Striding Male

The squat, thick proportions of this striding figure suggest a northern Levantine locale. Its outstretched arms end in rounded fists that show no evidence of having held any additional items. Slightly bulging almond-shaped eyes and a fleshy nose define the face. A single horizontal line marks the mouth, which recedes into the chin and neck. The figure wears a conical headdress that terminates abruptly with a flat top. It bears a central incised “feathering” design along the front, which may be meant to represent multiple pairs of horns—an attribute of divinity (1). A similar bronze figure, dated to the end of the second millennium, was excavated at Enkomi on Cyprus, although it stands immobile with its legs together (2). The Harvard bronze wears a short kilt, which is secured by a belt at the waist that conceals the transition from the frontal torso to the sideways legs. The legs, especially the back one, display irregularities in the bronze casting. These might be interpreted as greaves, such as those found on a famous spear-wielding bronze figure from Enkomi; they may also simply be the product of a casting flaw (3). NOTES: 1. For bronze figurines wearing horned conical headdresses, see O. Negbi, Canaanite Gods in Metal: An Archaeological Study of Ancient Syro-Palestinian Figurines (Tel Aviv, 1976) nos. 1433 (no provenance), 1459 (Mishrifé, context unknown), and 1402, which has a very similar incised pattern (Cyprus, context unknown), pls. 28, 31, and 35. 2. J.-C. Courtois, J. Lagarce, and E. Lagarce, Enkomi et le bronze récent à Chypre (Nicosia, 1986) pl. 18.6. 3. The Enkomi statue depicts a male divinity with horned helmet, round shield in its left hand, and a spear in its raised right hand. He stands with feet close together on a miniature bronze ingot of the “oxhide” type. The greaves form what appears to be a thick overlay on the lower legs (ibid., pl. 18.4). Marian Feldman