Large Etruscan Panther Sculpture, Circa 5th-4th century B.C. A substantial terracotta panther sculpture, the animal standing alert and with head turned upwards to left, its tail curled underneath to right; head, front legs and paws well-detailed; traces of polychrome pigment; hollow interior; partially reconstructed. Cf. Torelli, M., Gli Etruschi, Cinisello Balsamo, 2000, p.637, no.328, for similar examples. 5 kg, 40 cm high (15 3/4 in.). Acquired on the European art market. German private collection formed in the 1970s. Acquired in the 2000s from Herakles Numismatik und Antiquita?ten GmbH, Munich. Ex English private collection. with Bertolami Fine Art, London, 24 March 2017, lot 10. Michael Bianco, California, U.S.A., collection. Private Australian collection with collection number 20.12. Accompanied by an illustrated two page collector's cataloguing document. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.114481-196374. This sculpture could possibly have been a part of a larger cultic sculpture group, perhaps related to Dionysus, possibly being the decorative side (with its parallel) of a cultic throne, for which the present sculpture would have served as an armrest. The possibility that the terracotta is Hellenistic is suggested by its parallels with the so-called ‘Throne of the Panthers’, preserved at the Museo Rocca Monaldeschi della Cervara, Bolsena (inv.2081). The throne comprises a square plinth supporting the seat and a semi-circular back with zoomorphic and vegetal decoration, with two panthers in a guard position to the sides. For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price.