Tarquinia: MRA-ITA-Tar048
Type Sample Item
Sample ID
- MRA-ITA-Tar048
Sample Material Type
- Mural painting
Sample Sub-type
- fragment
Dimensions (cm)
- Length
- 11.2
- Width
- 7.3
- Height
- 2.9
Weight
- weight value (g)
- 341.8
Geographic Location
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Tarquinia
Site/monument
- Tomba dei Tori
Historical note about the site/monument
- The Tomb of the Bulls (Tomba dei Tori) was discovered in 1892 and has been dated back to the period comprised between 540-520 BCE. It is named after the two bulls which appear on one of its frescoes and is the earliest example of a tomb with complex frescoes in the necropolis. According to an inscription found on the walls, Arath Spuriana is the patron. Like other Etruscan tombs, it would originally have contained many grave goods that have been now moved to museum institutions, particularly pottery. The entrance to the tomb leads to the main chamber. The back wall of the main chamber is opposite to the entrance and contains two doorways that lead to two other chambers. Frescoes with brightly coloured animals adorn the gabled areas at the top of the front and back walls of the chambers. These include bulls, birds, hippocampi, a panther, a lion and a goat. The back wall of main chamber is the only wall with frescoes painted below the gable. Three are the decorations of the place: the tympanum of the main chamber features a man on a horse on the right. He is opposed to the Chimaera on the left. The significant decoration is a fresco with two erotic scenes that are observed by a calm bull, located further to the left. In the right scene there is a homosexual erotic representation, that is overseen again by a bull. These paintings are relatively rare examples of explicit sexual scenes in Etruscan art, which were far more common in Ancient Greek art. The last important painting is situated horizontally between the two doorways, in the centre of the wall. It portrays the ambush of Troilus by Achilles, which is described in the Cypria. On the left, Achilles is shown armed with a sword and spear and wearing a helmet, greaves and a loincloth. He hides behind several plants and a large fountain. Troilus approaches from the right on a horse, unaware of the presence of Achilles. Achilles is naked but armed with a long spear. The event precedes the pursuit and slaying of Troilus by Achilles at the altar of Apollo. Below this ambush scene are nine trees that depict the changing seasons.
Sources and further reading:
Romanelli, Pietro (1938). Tarquinii, Volume 2. Le pitture della tomba della Caccia e della Pesca. Roma: Libreria di Stato.
Steingräber, Stephan (2006). Abundance of Life: Etruscan Wall Painting. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications. ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5.
Oleson, John Peter (1975). "Greek Myth and Etruscan Imagery in the Tomb of the Bulls at Tarquinia". American Journal of Archaeology. 79 (3): pp. 189–200. JSTOR 503479.
Cecchini, Adele (2012). L tombe di Tarquinia-Vicenda Conservativa, restauri, tecnica di esecuzione. Kermes Quaderni, Nardini Editore.
Chronological period (sample)
- 6th century BCE