Terracotta architectural plaque with lotus and palmette designs
Said to be from Cerveteri
Major portions of most Etruscan temples were made of wood, abundantly available in ancient Italy. To protect wooden beams from the elements, they were covered with terracotta slabs of varying dimensions. This mold-made plaque originally was attached to a horizontal beam high on the exterior of an Etruscan temple. It was one of a series that would have created a long decorative frieze for the architrave, the horizontal element just above the columns. Traces of red, blue, and yellow paint indicate how colorful the original appearance of an Etruscan temple must have been.
Major portions of most Etruscan temples were made of wood, abundantly available in ancient Italy. To protect wooden beams from the elements, they were covered with terracotta slabs of varying dimensions. This mold-made plaque originally was attached to a horizontal beam high on the exterior of an Etruscan temple. It was one of a series that would have created a long decorative frieze for the architrave, the horizontal element just above the columns. Traces of red, blue, and yellow paint indicate how colorful the original appearance of an Etruscan temple must have been.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta architectural plaque with lotus and palmette designs
- Period: Hellenistic
- Date: late 4th century BCE
- Culture: Etruscan
- Medium: Terracotta, paint
- Dimensions: H.: 24 11/16 x 18 3/4 in. (62.7 x 47.6 cm)
- Classification: Terracottas
- Credit Line: Purchase by subscription, 1896
- Object Number: 96.18.24
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Restituted
Etruscan
late 6th century BCE
Tondo Group
ca. 325–300 BCE
East Greek or Lydian
6th century BCE
Greek, South Italian, Tarentine
3rd–2nd century BCE
Greek
1st quarter of the 5th century BCE
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