Polychrome sarcophagus in Circeo Limestone -I
The deceased, cloaked, crowned, and adorned with jewels, reclines on the lid of the sarcophagus, holding a patera for libations. Near his head lies a folded liber linteus—a book written on linen cloth, possibly a sacred text. A sphinx is also positioned near his head.
The bas-relief carved on the casket surface depicts the funeral procession. The deceased is shown riding a biga (two-horse chariot); in front of the chariot there are his wife, musicians (playing the tibia, lyre, and horn), dancers, a cloaked figure, and a priest holding a lituus—a curved staff resembling a pastoral crook.
The iconography blends the innovation of the funeral procession with themes from archaic tradition: the banquet, music, dance, and the presence of the married couple participating in the ceremony.
The sarcophagus was discovered in Cerveteri, in the Banditaccia Necropolis, inside a painted chamber tomb known as the Tomb of the Sarcophagi.
Limestone Etruscan sarcophagus
Casket: height 60 cm; length 190 cm; width 66 cm
Lid: height 40 cm; length 195 cm; width 60 cm
400 - 375 BC
From Cerveteri, Banditaccia Necropolis
Rome, Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco – Inv. 14949
Polychrome sarcophagus in Circeo Limestone -I
The deceased, cloaked, crowned, and adorned with jewels, reclines on the lid of the sarcophagus, holding a patera for libations. Near his head lies a folded liber linteus—a book written on linen cloth, possibly a sacred text. A sphinx is also positioned near his head.
The bas-relief carved on the casket surface depicts the funeral procession. The deceased is shown riding a biga (two-horse chariot); in front of the chariot there are his wife, musicians (playing the tibia, lyre, and horn), dancers, a cloaked figure, and a priest holding a lituus—a curved staff resembling a pastoral crook.
The iconography blends the innovation of the funeral procession with themes from archaic tradition: the banquet, music, dance, and the presence of the married couple participating in the ceremony.
The sarcophagus was discovered in Cerveteri, in the Banditaccia Necropolis, inside a painted chamber tomb known as the Tomb of the Sarcophagi.
Limestone Etruscan sarcophagus
Casket: height 60 cm; length 190 cm; width 66 cm
Lid: height 40 cm; length 195 cm; width 60 cm
400 - 375 BC
From Cerveteri, Banditaccia Necropolis
Rome, Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco – Inv. 14949