Urn of the bride and groom
The urn of the bride and groom or urn of the couple ( Italian Urna degli sposi ) is an Etruscan artifact from the Hellenistic period of Etruscan art and is one of the most important works of art of the Etruscan sepulchral culture . The sculpture is now in the Museo Etrusco Guarnacci in Volterra .
description
The designation of the work of art as an urn is somewhat misleading, as only the lid of the funeral urn with a length of 71 cm, width 34 cm and height 41 cm has survived. The original container for the ashes of the deceased should have been a cuboid open at the top with about the same dimensions. Since the remaining lid was made of terracotta , it can be assumed that the lost container was also made of terracotta.
The lid shows a couple who have sat down on a sofa bed. The man is leaning on a pillow with his left arm, his head and torso facing the viewer. His left hand is on a second pillow. The middle and ring fingers of the hand are angled. His right arm rests stretched out sideways on his torso. The right hand has not been preserved. He wears a wide forehead band on his head. His head hair is short, ears and forehead are free, there is no beard hair. The woman, on the other hand, lies on her stomach so that an observer can see her in profile in front of the long side of the lid. Her right forearm is missing, the angled fingers of the left hand can be seen on the front of the lid, only the index finger is extended. The woman's hair is artfully laid in waves.
The faces are depicted with a remarkable realism. The couple is of an advanced age and their faces are clearly wrinkled. The clothes of the spouses, especially the folds, are worked out with great attention to detail and craftsmanship, as are the facial features and the expression of the eyes. She fixed her gaze on her husband. Their eyes don't meet, however, they just cross, as the man looks past his wife into the distance.
background
Volterra, in Etruscan Velathri, was one of the most important Etruscan cities and belonged to the League of Twelve Cities . Funeral urns, consisting of a small sarcophagus with a lid, were mainly made in this area . The case functioned as an ash container, the lid showed the figurative representation of individuals or married couples. In contrast to earlier epochs, in which interest was concentrated on the upper half of the figures, the bodies are completely three-dimensional. Very early urns from the 4th century BC. Chr. Have a simple plate as a cover. Most urns are made of alabaster , a plaster-like material that is similar to marble but is easier to work with.
What is unusual about the urn of the bride and groom is that it is made from terracotta, an unglazed pottery made from clay minerals . Terracotta was rarely used in northern Etruria . Unlike stone ware, however, the clay enables the most precise details to be worked out, which is normally done before firing . The urn of the bride and groom was processed with a tool even after the fire.
The deceased are depicted on a sofa bed ( Kline ) at a banquet . The banquet was an important social event for economic and social distinction , in which women in Etruria could also take part, which outraged Greeks and Romans alike. Since inscriptions were mostly placed on the lower part of the urn and this part of the grave sculpture has been lost, it can no longer be determined what name the deceased had and what social position they held.
The dating of the funeral urn is uncertain and controversial. The approaches range from the late 3rd century to the 1st century BC. It is conceivable that the grave sculpture from the older period of urn production between the 3rd and 2nd century BC BC. During this period, terracotta was occasionally used and married couples were also depicted on the urn lid. However, numerous details indicate that this grave monument is not part of a standardized production, but was made at the special request of a client. The realistic portraits of the deceased in particular suggest a later date of creation. The urn could therefore also be used in the 1st century BC. According to the will of the client in the style of the ancestors.
literature
- Sybille Haynes: Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History. Getty Publications, Los Angeles 2000, ISBN 0892366001 , p. 368.
- Friedhelm Prayon: The Etruscans. History, religion, art. 5th edition. CH Beck, Munich 2010, ISBN 9783406598128 , pp. 91-92.
- Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.): The Etruscans. World culture in ancient Italy. Karl Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 9783937345888 , pp. 316-317.
Web links
- L'urna degli sposi. In: Museo Etrusco Guarnacci. Consorzio Turistico Volterra Valdicecina Valdera, accessed on July 30, 2020 .