Campana Slabls - I
Three terracotta slabs depicting three of the Herakles' labors: the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Cretan Bull. These terracotta reliefs belong to a group of similar findings identified as the “Campana Slabs”. Originally painted, the slabs were used as decorative coverings for public and private buildings. The slabs were mass-produced like tiles and bricks, and cast from a matrix. Their use likely dates back to the terracotta decorations found in Etruscan architecture, and perhaps reflects the bronze decorations applied to bases and altars or as wall coverings.
The name Campana comes from the Marquis Giampietro Campana who, in the first half of the nineteenth century, had assembled a rich collection of archaeological findings, sold in 1861 and today dispersed among various museums.
Terracotta slabs
Height 74-76 cm
Late 1st century BC – early 1st century AD
From Quadraro district in Rome
Rome, Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco – Inv. nn. 14160, 14163, 14477
Campana Slabls - I
Three terracotta slabs depicting three of the Herakles' labors: the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Cretan Bull. These terracotta reliefs belong to a group of similar findings identified as the “Campana Slabs”. Originally painted, the slabs were used as decorative coverings for public and private buildings. The slabs were mass-produced like tiles and bricks, and cast from a matrix. Their use likely dates back to the terracotta decorations found in Etruscan architecture, and perhaps reflects the bronze decorations applied to bases and altars or as wall coverings.
The name Campana comes from the Marquis Giampietro Campana who, in the first half of the nineteenth century, had assembled a rich collection of archaeological findings, sold in 1861 and today dispersed among various museums.
Terracotta slabs
Height 74-76 cm
Late 1st century BC – early 1st century AD
From Quadraro district in Rome
Rome, Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco – Inv. nn. 14160, 14163, 14477