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The Colors of the Etruscans - I - "Agonothetes"

The exhibition «Colors of the Etruscans» is the result of operations of the Carabinieri Headquarters for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and proves their immediate consequence in terms of culture. The splendid work that followed the recovery is a valuable contribution to the enlargement of our knowledge of the Etruscans.

One section of this exhibition is devoted to the terracotta painted plaques. The use of painting terracotta plaques to be hang at the walls of buildings and put beside - another in continuous friezes had a special fortune in ancient Caere (the most philo-Hellenic of the Etruscan cities, the only one that had its own "thesauros" at Delphi). This depended from the arrival of East Greek craftsmen into the Etruscan communities, from the early phases the sixth century BC. Another section of the exhibition is dedicated to the fragments — again in polychome terracotta — belonging to the outer architectural decoration of the buildings.

The dispersion of archaeological material from Caere started in connection with the Eighteen century excavations, which offered material for the antiques market and had an illegal continuation with illicit excavations and the consequent trafficking. Other archaeological finds stolen or illegally excavated and exported during the years, and now recovered by Carabinieri investigation activities are exposed besides these painted terracotta plaques. Also these finds underwent the indiscriminate and savage looting of the territory of Caere.

 

The plaque has been reassembled from several fragments and presents some gaps at the bottom and along the left edge. The panel central part is occupied by the figure of a draped young man with a red skin tone and black hair; his head overlaps the lower edge of the frieze. Legs and stomach are shown in profile on the right, while the chest is seen from the front and the head is represented in profile to the left. He wears a short ocher-colored tunic with a black cloak around his chest and above his left shoulder. For the general pose of the figure scholars makes some comparisons between this fragment and painted tombs from Tarquinia, all dated to the last quarter of the VI century. The unusual shape of the stick, which appears frequently in the paintings of Etruscan tombs and in the Greek vase painting, reveals his role of "agonothetes", an official in charge of physical education (trainer) and of the supervision of the athletes during the competitions (referee). The plaque was probably part of a larger scene whose subject were competitions and games. By comparison with other pieces purchased in the following years by several museums scholars suppose that the plaque comes from Cerveteri.

 

Fragmentary painted terracotta plaque

6th century BC

From Cereveteri

Exhibition “Colors of the Eruscans” - Cat N. 82

Rome, Centrale Montemartini

 

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Uploaded on December 31, 2019
Taken on December 5, 2019