Cultures of the Mediterranean

Oenochoe Italo-Corinthian

Vase characteristic of Corinthian potters that settled in Magna Greacia.

Square-shaped vases

Green glass

Chalice with caryatids

Black ceramics (bucchero nero).

Chalice assembled over four supports in the shape of caryatids, in Eastern style. The piece is part of the Empress Teresa Cristina's findings from the excavations that she executed in the Etruscan site of Veii.

Naked Torso

Representation of Venus found in excavations executed in 1853. The position of the goddess, standing up, suggests that it is a representation of the myth of Leda and the Swan. Venus — a central figure of the Roman pantheon — is the goddess of love, of fertility, of beauty, protectress of lovers and travelers. She defended both public and private interests, of men and women, of the young and the old. She usually appears accompanied by her attributes: an apple, a pomegranate, a sandalwood, a dolphin, and a pigeon. Venus and her Greek correspondent, Aphrodite, are usually represented naked or semi-naked.

Tripod vase with mask appliques

The glass possesses physical particularities that permit procedures impossible to be executed in clay or metal. Roman artisans explored this quality to its maximum. Besides the blown flasks, there were also those made with the aid of molds.

Chalice crater, Italiote

Ceramics.

The scene represents the combat between the two warriors Etéocle and Polinice. A bird between the two carried a band (taenia) of victory. On the left, a woman sitting down holds a tray of offerings. In the top decoration, a frontal female face is surrounded by a gryphon and a panther.

Bell crater

Ceramics.

The scene represents three women holding arks of offerings, a bunch of grapes, and a wreath of flower. The central figure is seated over a pile of stones.

Corinthian oenochoe with lid

Corinthian ceramics.

The oenochoe is a jar with a single handle, used to serve wine from the crater to the goblets. The bowl was covered with floral motifs and representations of animals: lions, owls, goats, panthers, and swans.

Germinated flask with two handles

Italo-Corinthian Askos in ring shape

The Askos is a type of vase used to mix and purify oils

Etruscan warrior

Bronze.

Schematic figure of a warrior standing up, carrying a helmet. His legs are far apart, with his body weight leaning on one of them, in an attitude of attack.

Mirror cables

Bronze.

The mirrors on the right represent a Kouros of Ionic style, 6th Century A.D. Very frequent in funerary contexts, the mirrors were buried not only with women, but also with men, also appearing in steles and in tomb paintings. The reflecting disks, absent in these exemplars, were frequently adorned with mythological scenes.

Female sculpture without head.

White and pink marble.

The piece portrayed is a statuette of kore in archaic style, possibly a copy of the Roman epoch. The standing female figure wears a long draped tunic, raised delicately with both hands. The skilled sculptor that produced it made use of the contrast between the body, made of white marble, and the feet, made of pink marble, as well as the head, now disappeared and probably also made out of the same material, with the intention of representing the human skin. It belongs to the set of objects that was found in a tomb during excavations that were conducted in Veii, in 1853.