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Etruscan Bronze Art and Funerary Practices

Aug 10, 2024

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