Tarquinia: MRA-ITA-Tar004
Type Sample Item
Sample ID
- MRA-ITA-Tar004
Sample Material Type
- Mural painting
Sample Sub-type
- fragment
Dimensions (cm)
- Length
- 2
- Width
- 0.8
- Height
- 1.2
Weight
- weight value (g)
- 3.4
Geographic Location
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Tarquinia
Site/monument
- Tomba della Caccia e Pesca
Historical note about the site/monument
- Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia is called after the hill on which it is located and is popular for its high number of sepulchers (more than 6,000), some of them monumental. The necropolis goes back to the 7th and 3rd century BCE, being one of the most long-termed. The site conveys a glimpse to the Etruscan lifestyle and notion of afterlife. The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing (Tomba della Caccia e della Pesca) is called after its mural paintings, representing scenes of this nature. Dated back in 530 BCE, this tomb was found in 1873 together with others. The sepulcher is organized in two rooms, one being the anteroom to the actual tomb. The two areas are jointed through a door and the decoration is consistent in the representation of convivial subjects. This setting is unusual in the sepulchers of this necropolis and allow to argue the possession to an important and wealthy family. The antechamber could be considered as a place to gather in prayer, and the decoration is divided into two halves with the upper decorated in white, dark purple, purple and cyan stripes alternating and down, the paintings reproduce scenes of hunting, games, animals, floral elements, horse races for chasing animals. The inner chamber features a banquet, with the patron and proprietary of the tomb represented in traditional Etruscan dressing on the left wall while celebrating in the company of the spouse. On the right wall, there are the servants while on the center, fishermen are portrayed in their activity while hunters chase birds. The boat displays an eye, symbol of the direction, on the bow, whilst the birds are represented as unnaturally huge. The whole mural painting is a representation of pleasure as the final goal of human existence (Fig.1 and Fig.2).
Sources and further reading:
Romanelli, Pietro (1938). Tarquinii, Volume 2. Le pitture della tomba della Caccia e della Pesca. Roma: Libreria di Stato.
Montesanti, Antonio (2008). Tarquinia. La tomba della caccia e della pesca. Analisi stilistica: parte II. In: InStoria, 35(4). ISSN: 1974-028X.
Cecchini, Adele (2012). Le tombe di Tarquinia-Vicenda Conservativa, restauri, tecnica di esecuzione. Kermes Quaderni, Nardini Editore.
Chronological period (sample)
- 6th century BCE
Other info about sample provenance