Etruscan or Picenian Woman’s Ceremonial Belt

Culture: Etruscan

Period: 800–750 B.C.

Material: Bronze

Dimensions: 33 cm long

Price: 18 000 Euro

Ref: 4235

Provenance: Swiss private collection since the 1950s. Acquired in 1982 by the Axel Guttmann Collection (1944–2001). Published in 2013 in Galerie Puhze, Catalogue 27, p. 19, no. 28. Subsequently, in a German private collection.

Condition: Intact with magnificient patina.

Description: Magnificently preserved and richly decorated bronze belt, which formed part of the costume of a woman of high status in southern Etruria or Picenum. The widest point at the center of the elliptical bronze sheet is decorated with nine raised bosses, each surrounded by dots and six concentric circles, thus forming a solar symbolism. On either side, there is an additional boss, likewise adorned with dot-and-circle decoration. From these bosses emerge stylized water birds extending toward the center, with long, upward-curving beaks, S-shaped bodies, and a horizontally mirrored head facing downwards. The edge of the belt is encircled by a herringbone pattern and continuous lines, from which very finely hatched triangles are oriented inward. The belt ends on one side in a hook and on the other in a rectangular plate; at these points, it was attached to a leather breastplate. Ceremonial belts of this type have been found in women’s graves. See for the type: Jacques Chamay "The Art of the Italic Peoples. From 3000–30 B.C.", Geneva 1993, pp. 136–137, no. 47. Our belt is published in: "Kunst der Antike. Ancient Art", Katalog 27 der Galerie Puhze, Freiburg 2013, p. 19, no. 28.