Amazon sarcophagus
The painted Amazon sarcophagus (71 cm × 194 cm × 62 cm) was discovered in 1869 near Tarquinia - then called Corneto . The Etruscan sarcophagus dates to the fourth century BC. The paintings are considered a masterpiece of ancient art and are often attributed to a Greek painter. The sarcophagus is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Florence (inv. No. 5811). According to the inscription on the lid, a woman named Ramtha Huzcnai was buried in it. She was the mother or grandmother of the civil servant ( zileteraias ) Larth Apaiatru .
The coffin tub is made of calcite , a material that does not occur in Etruria . The lid is made of marble and is designed like a gable roof. On the lid there is also the Etruscan inscription that names the dead. On the short sides of the lid there is a relief that shows Actaion being torn to pieces by his dogs. Women's heads are depicted at the four corners. The outer walls of the coffin tub are painted. Various figures appear on a pink background. Women are light-skinned, while men are more red-brown. The paintings show the battle between Amazons and Greeks, although it is difficult to reconcile certain scenes with mythological tales. Therefore it was assumed that fights are shown here in a very general way.
On the front of the sarcophagus there are five groups. In the middle you can see an Amazon fighting two Greeks. To the left and right of it there are fighting couples. A Greek is about to kill a fallen Amazon. At the ends of the pages there is an Amazon on a horse fighting a Greek on foot.
There are two larger groups on the back. Four figures are depicted on the right: Two Amazons on a chariot with four horses attack two Greeks who are defending themselves on foot. There is a corresponding group on the left. Three figures are shown at the foot end: An Amazon is attacked by a Greek, another Amazon comes to her aid. The head end shows a scene with a kneeling Greek who is attacked by two Amazons. The background on the short sides is dark.
The paintings are made in tempera on a thin layer of lead mixed with white pigments. The outlines of the figures were first scratched into the stone and then drawn in a dark red or brown. Dashed lines have been used to indicate shading on the bodies. The compositions - such as the pyramidal arrangement of the figures - are well known from classical art. Overall, the representations are reminiscent of those from Apulia . The painter obviously tried to create a three-dimensional space, although there are hardly any hints of landscape. On the long sides of the sarcophagus there are longer inscriptions that are carved into the paintings. Research does not agree on the place of manufacture. Some of the research regards the paintings as Greek works. Others see them as Etruscan.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Wolfgang Helbig : Scavi di Corneto . In: Bullettino dell '. Instituto di corrispondenza archaelogica 10. 1869, pp. 198-201. Digitized
- ^ Sidney Colvin : Paintings on the Amazon Sarcophagus of Corneto . In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies November 4, 1883, pp. 354–369, here p. 357.
- ↑ See Sidney Colvin: Paintings on the Amazon Sarcophagus of Corneto . In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies November 4, 1883, pp. 354-369. here pp. 357–358.
- ↑ See Dimitris Plantzos. The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece . Athens 2018, ISBN 978-618-5209-20-9 , pp. 290-292.
- ^ François Villard, for example, suspects Taranto to be the place of production. See Jean Charbonneaux , Roland Martin , Françios Villard: Hellenized Greece, 330–50 BC. Chr. Munich 1971, ISBN 34-060-301-81 , p. 105.
- ^ Robert Leighton: Tarquinia, An Etruscan City . Duckworth, London 2004, ISBN 0715631624 , p. 159.
literature
- Sidney Colvin : Paintings on the Amazon Sarcophagus of Corneto . In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies November 4, 1883, pp. 354-369.
