Room X and XI - Cinerary urns of the Hellenistic period from the fourth century BC
“Cinerary urn in alabaster” by the Master of Oenomaus, an artist who may have come from
Volterra, first quarter of the second century BC from the area called La Rocca
near Todi
“Monument with Adonis dying” about 225 BC in
polychrome pottery, found in 1834 in Tuscania
It is not a cinerary urn but probably a lid
of a large cinerary urn. Adonis symbolizes the youthful male beauty but also the
death and renewal of nature
His myth is very complex with many
different versions. He was killed by a wild boar during a hunting trip
“Four cinerary urns of the Ceicna family” found
in a chamber tomb in Castiglione del Lago
Room XII - Collection of Bonifacio Falcioni from Viterbo
It was bought by Leo XIII Pecci (1878/1903)
in 1898. It is very heterogeneous
Frieze executed at the time of Julius III
Ciocchi Del Monte (1550/55) by Daniele da Volterra
(1509/66) and pupils
“Figured stopper in bucchero” second half
of the sixth century BC, tall stopper with the figured representation of a
rooster
Room XIII - Clay sarcophagi from Tuscania
“Clay sarcophagus lid” about 125 BC
“Besides the production of sarcophagi in
lithic material there is simultaneously, in internal southern Etruria, between
the third and second century BC a feature production of terracotta sarcophagi,
which sees the emergence of some workshops operating in Tuscania, from where
also comes the funerary monument with Adonis dying” (Web site of the Vatican
Museums - mv.vatican.va)
Room XIV - Roman Museum
Roman
bronze and silver pieces formerly believed Italic or Etruscans
“Male statue” in bronze, one of the few
existing examples of bronze statuary dating to the second half of the first
century BC
The long neck was probably an optical
correction aimed at a vision of the statue from the bottom. The eyeballs were
originally made of colored stones, patinated bronze simulated skin and lips and
nipples were simulated by copper inserts
“Portrait of Emperor Trebonianus Gallo” (251/253) in bronze
He was emperor together with his son
Volusianus in a very difficult period during which the plague raged in Rome and
he had to deal with the incursions of the Goths and the Sassanids Persians
“Figurative foot of a folding table” first
century AD
“Espalier (fulcrum) of a bed” end of
the first century BC
“Silver vases with a dedication to Apollo”
second half of the first century AD, from the thermal source Vicarello, near
Bracciano
Room XV - Roman Museum
Glass,
ivory, pottery from the first century BC to the first century AD
“Three sheets in relief” from the cycle of the
twelve labors of Hercules: fighting with the lion, the Hydra of Lerna and the Cretan
bull
In the showcase A there is in a rich selection of glasses of various age, of
which the newest pieces date back to the late Roman Empire and the early Middle
ages, along with ivory and bone objects
“Ivory Doll” first third of the fourth century
AD with traces of cloth woven in gold
It was found in a sarcophagus in the left
side of the Basilica of St. Sebastian
along with the remains of a girl of 15 years
Room XVI - Roman Museum, Ager Vaticanus
ROMAN ANTIQUITIES:
“Roman oil lamps” first century AD, some with
theatrical subjects
Two fronts of coffered chests in plaster of
the Flavian period (69/96) from a columbarium discovered in the Vigna Moroni on
the Appian Way in 1816: “Aphrodite and Adonis dying” and “Alexander-Zeus on the globe
between Poseidon and Heracles”
VATICAN AREA:
“Altar dedicated to Cybele and Attis” 374 AD in
marble, found in the area of St. Peter's Square
“In a not specified place in the vicinity of
the Vatican Basilica stood the sanctuary of the Phrygian goddess Cybele, from
which many altars with inscriptions come. It had to be closed as a result of
measures taken by the Emperor Theodosius against the pagan cults in 391 and
392. Among the many altars with inscriptions found there is this altar
dedicated to Cybele and Attis, with the sacred pine of Attis, a bull and a ram,
memory of the sacrifices made, and objects of worship. In the inscription there
is the exact date of the dedication: July 19, 374 AD” (Web site of the Vatican
Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Funerary sets” from tombs in the
necropolis of the Autoparco Vaticano
Rooms XVII e XVIII - Vases, Laconic, Attic and Corinthian black-figure pottery
Figured Greek vases believed to be
Etruscan until the early nineteenth century
The last rooms of the museum are dedicated
to this remarkable Greek production found in Etruria
“Corinthian Olpe” 630/615 BC by the Painter of Vatican 73. An olpe
was a small wine jug
“Between the end of the eighth century BC and
the beginning of the seventh the almost absolute primacy of export markets in
the Mediterranean was the prerogative of Corinth, whose refined products were
widespread in southern Italy and Etruria. This olpe (pear-shaped jug with high
trumpet-shaped lip), in transitional style, is decorated with superimposed
friezes of the Orientalizing type: stripes with panthers, bulls, deer, herons
and sphinxes” (Web site of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Corinthian Oinochoe” about 570/550 BC from
Cerveteri, with fighting of Ajax against Hector
The oinochoe was a vessel used for wine,
characterized by an oval body, more or less elongated, with one loop and
ranging from 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16 inches)
“Laconian kylix with Prometheus and Atlas”
560/550 BC of Spartan manufacturing, attributed to the Painter
of Archesilas II
The kylix was a cup to drink wine just like
we do now from glasses
“One of the earliest depictions of the myth
of Atlas that reached us. Atlas, bearded, bend his knees under the weight of
the mass that he must bear on his shoulders, having been condemned by Zeus to
keep heaven separate from earth. To his punishment the one of a second Titan is
associated, his brother Prometheus, guilty of having given fire to men, tied to
a stake and perpetually tortured with an eagle that gnawed his liver which
would grow back every night only to be eaten again. The combination of the two
episodes has suggested that our painter was inspired directly by Hesiod's
Theogony, where the two Titans are described one after the other” (Web site of
the Vatican Museums - mv. vatican.va)
“Attic black-figured kylix” by the Painter of Phrynos about 560 BC from Vulci, with Ajax
carrying the dead body of Achilles in splendid miniature style
“Attic black-figured amphora” signed by Nikosthenes about 530/510 BC from Cerveteri
“Attic black-figured amphora” by the Painter of the Vatican about 350 BC from Cerveteri
“Black-figured pelike” by the Painter of Plousios late sixth century BC from
Cerveteri, with representation of the oil sale and greeting inscription: O
father Zeus, may I become rich! A pelike was an anphora with a narrow neck,
a flanged mouth, and a sagging, almost spherical belly
“Attic black-figured oinochoe” by the Painter of Amasis
Room XIX - Vases, black-figure and red figure Attic ceramic
On the walls painting of 1780 with “Works carried out under the pontificate of Pius VI” Braschi (1775/99) maybe by Bernardino Nocchi (1741/1812)
“Panathenaic amphora” by the Berlin Painter 500/480 BC
“Attic black-figured hydria” by the Group of Leagros about 500 BC from Cerveteri
“On the shoulder scenes in the gym are
represented. The body depicts two knights in costume with Thessalian 'pétasos'
(wide-brimmed traveling hat) and two spears in their hands. The inscriptions
indicate the names of the horses 'Thrasos' (Courage) and 'Areté' (Virtue), and
the two boys names, 'Olympiodoros' and 'Leagros', each celebrated as 'kalos'
(handsome)” (Web site of the Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Attic bilingual kylix” attributed to the Painter of Scheurleer about 530 BC from Vulci. Inside,
black-figured man with a club, outside red-figures javelin thrower
“Around 530 BC in Attica was achieved the
fundamental evolution that brought the potters to abandon the technique of
black figures, adopting the red figures saved from the black painted
background. This change allowed the pottery painters to get a better definition
of the internal details of the figures through painted lines, as opposite to
inscribed lines, in consonance with the evolution of painting art. For some
time the mixed application of both techniques would be applied on the same
object, accompanying the transition to the final adoption of the red figures”
(Web Site Vatican Museums - mv.vatican.va)
“Amphora with Achilles and Ajax playing checkers”
(or a game similar to nowadays morra) and, on the other side, the Dioscuri back
after the hunt, an absolute masterpiece by Exekìas
540/530 BC from Vulci
“The greatest of the artists who used the
black-figure technique. About thirty vessels remained by him which express a
preference for monumental and tested forms. This is one of his most intense
works with a perfect composition, calm but tense: the two heroes bent on the table
(the backs seem to go along with the pot profile), their heads covered by
helmets, spears, shields” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“Excellence in drawing and painting,
sharpness of detail and control, balance and power of composition are the
obvious features of this extraordinary example of masterful vase painting. What
is most striking is the way in which the scene manages to evoke the narrative
and its emotional charge. The scene, apparently quiet, is full of omens and restrained
anger threatening to explode soon” (John Griffiths Pedley)
“The representation of the intersection of
the spears and the gimmick of drawing the feet of the two heroes in front of
and behind the stools are a first insight into the depths of space in art”
(Claudia Lambrugo)
“Attic red-figured amphora: the contest for
the tripod and procession of musicians” by the Painter
of Troilos about 480 BC from Cerveteri
“Three red-figured kylikes” by the Painter of Brygos 480 BC
“Red-figured lekythos: Death of Orpheus,
killed by the women of Thrace” by the Painter of Brygos
470 BC. The lekythos was a cruet for ointments, used by athletes and funeral
ceremonies
“Two red-figured kylikes” by the Painter of Makron about 480 BC from Vulci
“Two kylikes with gym scenes” by the Painter of Epeleios about 500 BC from Vulci
“Attic red-figured hydria with Hector and
Achilles” by the Painter of Eucharides about 500
BC from Vulci
“Attic red-figured amphora: Hector's
libation before the battle as parting from his parents, Priam and Hecuba. On
the B-side: elderly man between two women” attributed to the Painter of Hector about 450 BC from Vulci
“Three Attic red-figured kylikes” by Douris 490/480 BC including large kylix with “Banqueters” outside and “Young girl who helps a young man throwing up” inside,
from Vulci
“The joys of convivial meeting are exalted:
drinking, music, declamation, the company of women. This cup that is
characterized by the monumentality of the plastic figures is attributable to
his first period. The scene provides an opportunity to experience, through the
gestures of the guests, a number of positions and views on the move in
perspective” (Marina Castoldi)
Attic red-figured kylix about 480 BC also
by Douris from Cerveteri with “Jason swallowed by the monster that guarded the Golden
Fleece” and saved by Athena
It is possible to see the Golden Fleece
hanging from an oak branch
Attic red-figured kylix with “Oedipus hears the riddles of the sphinx”
attributed to the Painter of Oedipus about
480/470 BC from Vulci. Outside there is a satyrical farce
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