Limestone statue of a boxer, known as Manneddu

900–700 BCE

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

In the early first millennium BCE, the inhabitants of Sardinia erected colossal sculptures of boxers, archers, and warriors in a necropolis, or cemetery, at Mont’e Prama, on the western side of the island. Manneddu (from mannu in Sardinian, meaning large), as conservators named the figure when he was restored, is a boxer: a spiked glove once sheathed the forearm and fist of his missing right arm, and his raised left arm originally held a shield. Bronze statuettes with similar features, such as that in the photo here, have helped conservators to reassemble the enormous statues. The interpretation of the boxers is still uncertain. They may represent lightly armed warriors, or athletes competing in sacred games in honor of a deity or the dead.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Limestone statue of a boxer, known as Manneddu
Period: Iron Age
Date: 900–700 BCE
Culture: Nuragic
Medium: limestone
Dimensions: 77 3/16 × 26 × 22 7/16 in. (196 × 66 × 57 cm)
Classification: Stone Sculpture
Credit Line: Convenzione Regione Autonoma della Sardegna-Fondazione Mont'e Prama “Grande Progetto Mont'e Prama”, scheda 6 “Comunicazione e rapporti internazionali – Mont'e Prama e i giganti nel mondo”

Agreement between Autonomous Region of Sardinia-Mont'e Prama Foundation "Big Project Mont'e Prama-Communication and international relations - Mont'e Prama and the giants in the world”
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art