Open Access

Astrid Fendt

• A 36-centimeter-high bronze statuette in the Munich Antikensammlungen represents a naked young man holding a conical spinning top in his raised right hand, and formerly probably holding a whip in his left hand. The statuette was made around 350-325 BCE, probably in the Etrusco-Campanian environment. It formerly came from the James Loeb collection. Its place of discovery is unknown. It is assumed that it served as a votive offering or a grave good. It probably depicts a youth on the threshold of adulthood presenting his toy as part of the 'rite de passage' and consecrating it to a deity such as Hermes. With the dedicated presentation of the spinning top, the young man certainly also refers to his special ability and skill in playing whipping tops. It cannot be conclusively clarified whether the statuette can be further interpreted to the effect that the young man is not consecrating the object per se, but – in a more abstract sense – his ability, and can thus perhaps be interpreted in aA 36-centimeter-high bronze statuette in the Munich Antikensammlungen represents a naked young man holding a conical spinning top in his raised right hand, and formerly probably holding a whip in his left hand. The statuette was made around 350-325 BCE, probably in the Etrusco-Campanian environment. It formerly came from the James Loeb collection. Its place of discovery is unknown. It is assumed that it served as a votive offering or a grave good. It probably depicts a youth on the threshold of adulthood presenting his toy as part of the 'rite de passage' and consecrating it to a deity such as Hermes. With the dedicated presentation of the spinning top, the young man certainly also refers to his special ability and skill in playing whipping tops. It cannot be conclusively clarified whether the statuette can be further interpreted to the effect that the young man is not consecrating the object per se, but – in a more abstract sense – his ability, and can thus perhaps be interpreted in a professional context with acrobats and magicians.…