Etruscan ‘Tomb of the Funeral Couch’, Villa Giulia, Rome

            Discovered in 1873, this tomb consists of a wide square chamber carved in the rock, with span-ceiling and relief tie-beam; it contained burial beds/couches which still show the housing for the feet in the pavement.

The ceiling as well as the walls are fully decorated: the main beam reproduces rosettes and ivy sprays, while on the slopes is a chessboard motif recalling a carpet; on the walls there is a great figured frieze overlapping a wainscot with dolphins darting over a rippled sea.

The scene on the back wall and partially on the lateral ones represents a wide canopy a sort of light curtain - under which is a monumental catafalque along with two conical hats adorned with wreaths placed on double pillows next to light cloaks.

A banquet is reproduced on the sides, enlivened by musicians; the guests, grouped according to their sex, are lying on mattresses and wrapped in embroidered blankets. Outside the canopy open air games and dances are portrayed: boxing matches, cart races, dances with weapons, discus throwing and acrobatic horse-riding exercises.

Early interpretations of the paintings identified the catafalque as the funeral bed of the deceased wealthy couple to which the tomb belonged and around which the banquet and funeral games took place.

A new and more complex interpretation has been recently proposed: the scenes might represent a ceremony (theoxenia) in honour of the Dioscuros evoked by the conical hats and the cloaks on the catafalque. In the course of the ceremony athletic exercises particularly dear to them took place (Homer describes Castor as "a horse-breaker" and Pollux as "strong fist"). "Worship of the Dioscuros" was the expression of that Etruscan élite who considered chivalry and athleticism as the essence itself of its own aristocratic origin. The portrayal of the two divine brothers was particularly appropriate to a tomb, as they were doomed to enter and leave the Hades, having to cross the threshold between mortal life and immortality every day.

Tarquinia, 470-450 BCE. 

National Etruscan Museum, Villa Giulia, Rome

Some rights reserved

Taken on: April 27, 2024

Tags:

ancient

funerary

Etruscan

Tarquinia

funerary couch

banquet

musicians

games

dancing

boxing

discus

horses

Villa Giulia

Rome

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Sets appears in: • National Etruscan Museum, Villa Giulia, Rome • Ancient Etruscan artifacts more » • Ancient funerary artifacts and art « less

Groups appears in: • The Ancient World • Museums and Galleries more » • World Archaeology & Arts/ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ&ΤΕΧΝΕΣ-Rea • Museums of the World • World Archaeology • Italy B.C. / Italia a.C. • Ancient Paint - Pittura Antica • Your Museum Images • Ancient / Archaeological • Photos at the Museum • 100 Views Unlimited • Ancient Polychromy « less

Camera: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, f/2.2, 1/50 sec, 2.2mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Lens:	iPhone 15 Pro Max back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2
Aperture:	f/2.2
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	2.2mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	17.4.1
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