9-6-2013-Etruscans-II-SomeSourcesArchofRome - Emmaf.org

The Etruscans II 

The Apollo of Veii, ca 500 BC. 

Dr. Kristian Lorenzo 

Friday, September 6, 13

Today’s Topics 

The Etruscans 

Sculpture 

Bronze 

Terracotta 

Rome 

Some Sources for the Archaeology of Rome 


Friday, September 6, 13 

The Etruscans: Bronze Sculpture 

The wounded Chimaera of Arrezzo, early 4th cent. BC.

Etruscan Sculpture: Chimaera of Arrezzo 

is wounded so being shown in the middle of a battle with the Greek hero 

Bellerophon, early 4th cent. BC. Inscribed with the word “tinscvil” = 

“devoted to the gods” on its right front leg. 


Etruscan Sculpture: Chimaera of Arrezzo 

The wounded Chimaera of Arrezzo, early 4th cent. BC. Inscribed with 

the word “tinscvil” = “devoted to the gods” on its right front leg. 


Greek Mythological Inspiration 

Spartan kylix (terracotta drinking cup) from ca. 565 BC showing 

Pegasus and the Corinthian hero Bellerophon fighting the Chimaera. 

Bellerophon 


Etruscan: Bronze Sculpture 

The Capitoline Wolf dated to ca. 500 BC is considered a masterpiece with its 

combination of anatomical detail, ferocity and abstract decorative elements. 



The abstract decorative elements of the wolf’s neck can be compared to 

execution of the Chimaera from Arrezzo’s mane. 



However, the Capitoline Wolf only enters the historical record in 1471 when 

Pope Sixtus IV donated it and several other ancient bronzes to the Roman 

people. 



Then in the 18th-century, pioneering German art historian, Johann Joachim 

Winckelmann, first gave the statue an Etruscan origin, basing his attribution on the 

way the animal's fur was depicted and ancient accounts of similar statues. 

Roman 

authors: 

Cicero, 

Pliny the 

Elder 


Friday, September 6, 13 

Not Etruscan: Bronze Sculpture 

However, even in Winkelmann’s time it was known that the babies, 

Romulus and Remus, were 13th century additions probably made by 

Florentine Old Master Antonio Pollaiolo.

Etruscan: Bronze Sculpture?? 

In I996, art historian Anna Maria Carruba was assigned to restore the 

bronze. She found that it was cast in one complete piece using the lost 

wax method. 



The ancients also used the lost wax method to cast bronze sculptures 

but in pieces and then they fused them together. This method allowed 

them to make more elaborate pieces with no risk of total failure. 

The so-called Lupa of Fiesole. Hellenistic (ca. 323-30 BC) 

life-sized bronze statue of a lioness or she-wolf. 


Etruscan: Bronze Sculpture?? 

Single-piece casting was a medieval technique, used to 

produce objects like bells and cannons that needed a reliably 

rigid structure to function properly. 


Not Etruscan: Bronze Sculpture!! 

Using accelerator mass spectrometry, researchers extracted, analyzed and 

radiocarbon dated organic samples from the casting process. The results 

revealed with an accuracy of 95.4 percent that the Capitoline Wolf was crafted 

between the 11th and 12th century AD. 


Etruscan: Terracotta Sculpture 

The Married Couple Sarcophagus from Cerveteri, late 6th cent. BC. The 

Etruscans invented the practice of putting figures on sarcophagus lids 


Etruscan: Married Couple Sarcophagus 

The couple are lively and expressive. They are shown reclining on the marriage bed in 

a close seemingly loving embrace. Both have the archaic smile, and stylized features. 

archaic smile 


Etruscan: Married Couple Sarcophagus 

The sarcophagus was for inhumations not cremations like the earlier Villanovan hut 

urns, or the 2nd century BC cinerary urn of Thana Plecunia Presnti Umranalisa. 


Etruscan: Terracotta 

Sculpture 

The Apollo of Veii, ca. 500 BC 

striding active pose helping to impart a 

sense of liveliness 

his Etruscan “toga” is full of sharp folds 

arranged in patterns 

not fully freestanding = strut decorated 

with scroll pattern 


Etruscan: Terracotta Sculpture 

The Apollo of Veii, ca. 500 BC set on the ridgepole 

of his temple, so not meant to be seen up close. 

archaic smile 


Greek: Marble 

Sculpture 

The Anavysos Kouros, ca. 510 BC 

inspired by Egyptian large-scale sculpture 

naked, stiff posture 

anatomical details and hair more pattern 

and abstraction 

more an ideal than a real young man 

fully freestanding 


Greek: Marble Sculpture 

The Anavysos Kouros, late 6th cent. BC, served as an inscribed grave 

marker and may have represented the deceased himself. Kouroi (the 

plural form of kouros) could also be set in sanctuaries as dedications. 

archaic smile 

“Stay and mourn at the 

monument for dead 

Kroisos whom violent 

Ares destroyed, fighting in 

the front rank.” 


Etruscan: Terracotta Sculpture/Greek: Marble Sculpture 

The Apollo of Veii, ca. 500 BC 

The Anavysos Kouros, late 6th cent. BC 


Rome: Sources 

Antiquarian and Architectural Drawings and Maps: In the 16th and 17th 

century many artists and architects drew the ancient buildings of Rome. Some of 

these buildings still exist, many do not. The drawings and maps often 

Etienne Du Pérac (ca.1525-1604) 

The Palatine Hill 

The Septizodium 

Circus Maximus 


Rome: Marble Plan http://formaurbis.stanford.edu 

The Forma Urbis Romae/Severan Marble Plan of Rome: in AD 203-211 an 18 x 13 m marble plan of 

Rome was carved and then installed on a wall of the Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace) in the city. 


Rome: Marble Plan http://formaurbis.stanford.edu 

The Forma Urbis Romae/Severan Marble Plan of Rome: in AD 203-211 an 18 x 13 m marble plan of 

Rome was carved and then installed on a wall of the Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace) in the city. 

Theater of Pompey, 55 BC 

Circus Maximus (trad. date - Romulus) 


Rome: Coins http://www.romancoins.info/VIC-Buildings.html 

Important buildings often appeared on issues of Roman coinage. The 

information contained on the coin must be carefully weighed due to 

the inherent difficulties in representing architecture in such a small 

medium. Temple of Vesta, AD 79 

Remains of the Temple of Vesta 






medium. 

Temple of Vesta, 56 BC 

Remains of the Temple of Vesta 






medium 

Shrine of 

Janus Geminus 


Rome: Public Inscriptions 

Over 50,000 inscriptions in stone or bronze have been found in and around the city. 

They include dedications and other references, which can provide a great deal of info. 

Temple 

of Saturn 

The Senate and the Roman People 

restored this temple which had been destroyed by fire. 


Rome: Private Inscriptions 

Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces made his fulfilling public contracts for bread in the first 

century BC. To house his remains he had a large inscribed tomb constructed. 

This monument belongs to Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker and contractor. 

He attends... 


Rome: Literary Sources 

Claridge lists (p. 34-8) 50 literary sources useful for the study of the archaeology of 

Rome. Many authors from poets to playwrights to historians to orators to architects 

and geographers wrote about or included references to Rome and its buildings. 

A few of the most useful include: 

Diodorus Siculus (Greek Historian) 

Livy (Roman Historian) 

Dionysius of Halikarnassos (Greek Historian) 

Virgil (Roman Poet) 

Tacitus (Roman Historian) 

Suetonius (Roman Biographer)

9-6-2013-Etruscans-II-SomeSourcesArchofRome - Emmaf.org

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