Room III - Bronze statues, votive or funerary and everyday life objects
In the FRIEZE “Prophecies of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar” 1564
by Santi di Tito (1536/1603) and Niccolò Circignani aka Pomarancio (about 1520/98)
In the center of the room very important
and beautiful bronze statue “Mars of Todi” about 400/390 BC found in 1835
at the Convent of Montesanto in Todi buried between four slabs of travertine,
perhaps ritually and after being hit by lightning
It was merged from seven parts (head, arms,
legs and trunk in two parts) and was fixed to a base with bronze parts visible
beneath the feet
This Mars lost his helmet, but the remains
of the spear and patera, or saucer with which he was making a libation, are
kept in a showcase of the room
On the shield there is an inscription “Ahal
Trututis Dunum Dede” (Ahal Trutitis gave as an offer) in the Umbrian language
The statue is associated with the cult of
Mars that was practiced in Todi and is considered to be a work by Etruscan
bronze sculptors influenced by the great Greek masters of the fifth century BC
SHOWCASE A
“Tripod from Vulci” late sixth century BC
“Series of eleven studs with busts of a lion or Achelous”
from Tarquinia late sixth century BC
SHOWCASE B
“Carrara Putto” fourth or late third century BC
in bronze
“The statue falls into the category of
votive offering depicting children, squatting or sitting, in the act of making
an offering to the gods, as they are known from the ancient Etruscan
sanctuaries of Lake Trasimeno, Vulci, Cerveteri. The appearance of our child
with a mature face, has suggested that he could represent the mythical Tages,
the visionary child with the wisdom of a senior who, in Tarquinia, miraculously
appeared up from the ground during too deep a plowing. He first dictated to the
principes Etruriae (princes of Etruria) the Etruscan discipline, or the
foundations of Etruscan religion, later codified in the sacred books” (Web site
of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Graziani Putto” first half of the second
century BC in bronze
“Statuette of Haruspex” fourth century BC in
solid cast bronze from the right shore of the Tiber River
The Haruspices were priests who predicted
the future by examining the livers of sacrificed animals
The hat was always tied under the chin
because, if the hat had fallen, it would have been a very bad omen
“Mirror engraved with Calchas” about 410 BC in
bronze
“An Etruscan inscription qualifies this
haruspex as Chalchas, or the mythical Greek soothsayer represented here in the
Etruscan version of his iconography with the attribute of the wings, clear
connotation that emphasizes his function as intermediary between the earthly and
the transcendent. Note the foot resting on a rock, a fundamental action in the
process of divination by a haruspex, that in so doing was establishing a
contact with the ground as the site of the natural realm and of the underworld”
(Web site of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
SHOWCASE C
“Panoply of a warrior” (helmet, shield,
greaves) late sixth or early fifth century BC from a tomb in Bomarzo
Curious “Trumpet” from Vulci
“Horses' harness” found in 1864 in the
Pozzuolo Necropolis of Veii
“Anatomical Armor” about 350 BC from Bomarzo
“Helmet as Silenus' head” fourth century BC
from Atella
SHOWCASE D
“Mirror with Eos and Kephalos” about 470 BC
from Vulci
“Oval cist decorated with Amazons” late fourth
century BC from Vulci
SHOWCASE E
“Collection of candelabra” about 375 BC from
Vulci and Orte
SHOWCASE F
“Funerary set of Laris Harenies” mid fourth
century BC from Bolsena
Room IV - Objects of various kinds of stone
In the frieze “Allegorical figures and musical challenge between Apollo and Marsyas” about 1559/65 maybe by Orlando Parentini
“Pair of lions” in nenfro late sixth century BC
Nenfro is a variety of tuff dark gray and
compact but not so resistant typical of the Latium region
“These lions have been found in a chamber tomb,
where they had been guarding the entrance. The menacing aspect, with open jaws,
agrees with the functions assigned to them that reveals the belief in survival
of the deceased limited to borders of the tomb. The modeling of the sculpture
follows the patterns of archaic art” (Web site of the Vatican Museums -
mv.vatican.va)
“Sarcophagus known as of the Magistrate” third
century BC in nenfro from Tuscania with relief representing Etruscan magistrate
the dead in 36 years on a chariot preceded by three men carrying the fasces,
symbols of power
“Sarcophagus known as of the Poet” third
century BC in nenfro from Tarquinia with cover not relevant and reliefs with
stories about the Trojan War
“Sarcophagus with a polychrome relief” about
360 BC in marble from the Banditaccia Necropolis of Cerveteri with musicians
and priest provided with lituus, a curved stick similar to the Christian
bishops' pastoral
“Female Figurine” from Chiusi
Bilingual “Stele” from Todi
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