Lecture Notes: Etruscan Bronze Sculptures and Funerary Art

Etruscan Bronze Sculptures

• Chimera Sculpture

  • Origin: Late 5th century
  • Dimensions: About three feet high and five feet long
  • Description: A lion with a goat coming out of its side and a snake for a tail (composite creature)
  • Literary Use: "Chimera" refers to something burdensome, like a plague
  • Rediscovery: Found during the Renaissance under Cosimo de Medici
    • Medici adopted the image on his crest
    • Spent time restoring the sculpture

• Bronze Technique

  • Created similarly in antiquity and modern times
  • Full-scale sculptures possible
  • Example: Sculpture showing contrapposto weight shift, articulated body, composite material eyes

Transition in Funerary Objects

• Archaic Period to Second Century

  • Material Shift: From terracotta to carved stone
  • Sarcophagi: Carved stone sarcophagi could hold remains or cremated remains

• Reclining Figures on Sarcophagi

  • Depiction of a couple cuddling in bed for eternity
  • Comparison: More realistic than ancient Egyptian marriage poses
  • Development: Conventionalized images in later periods

• Sarcophagus Store Concept

  • Stock supply of sarcophagi and lids
  • Customization: Choose models, hair colors, and inscriptions
  • Mythology: Depictions relevant to the deceased's interests

Combined Burial Types

• Round Subterranean Tombs (Second Century)
  • Carved from tufa
  • Contain multiple sarcophagi
  • Arrangement: Lined up in a circle, resembling a party
  • Common Items: Men with libation bowls, writing instruments, drinking horns; women with mirrors, torches, palms, pomegranates
  • Painting: Originally brightly painted, not individualized

Etruscan and Greco-Roman Mythology

• Integration of Etruscan variations with Greco-Roman mythology
• Influence on subsequent Roman burial practices