The Shoulder Bust in Sicily and South and Central Italy: A Catalogue and Materials for Dating

Göteborg: Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, 1977. Paperback. Very good. Quarto [30 cm] Red wraps. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology Vol. LI. From the first page- "The shoulder bust and a closely related figural type, the half figure, both appear first in Italy in Etruria, in the mid-seventh century. The functions of the two forms are similar: they serve occasionally as votive offerings, most frequently as grave goods. In funerary contexts, they may serve either as gravemarkers / tomb guardians, or as offerings within the tomb. Their precise religious meaning cannot be established, but there is no question that their association is with death, whether as representations of the dead, or of some divinity or daemon.