Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE B: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Ficoroni Cist
Alternate Title:
Cista Ficoroni
Image View:
Overall back view, the cist with engraving on cylindrical sides and cast figures on lid, cast lion paw feet
Creator:
Novius Plautius (Etruscan metalworker, active 4th century BCE)
Location:
repository: Museo Nazionale Etrusco (Villa Giulia) (Rome, Lazio, Italy)
Location Note:
Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9
GPS:
41.918375 12.477657
Date:
ca. 325-300 BCE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Etruscan
Style Period:
Greco-Etruscan
Work Type 1:
cista (toiletry container)
Classification:
Decorative Arts, Utilitarian Objects and Interior Design
Material:
bronze
Technique:
casting (process); engraving (action); hammering; metalworking
Measurements:
74 cm (height)
Subjects:
death or burial; funerary art; decorative arts; mythology (Classical)
Description:
Praeneste (Palestrina) stood on the main route between Etruria and Poseidonia and was heavily influenced by Etruscan culture. Etruscan mirrors were closely associated with the cists (cistae) used for women’s toilet items. One group of mirrors, thought to have been made at Praeneste bear Latin inscriptions. Several depict the myth of Amykos which also appears on certain cists found at the site including the Ficoroni Cist. These mirrors also include the only examples signed by their maker, and, since another engraved object found at Praeneste, the Ficoroni Cist, carries a similar maker’s signature, that of Novios Plautios, it seems possible that Latin engravers enjoyed a higher status than their Etruscan counterparts. Based on the style of the vessel and the inscription, Novios seems to have had affiliations with Rome, but he was probably a Greek immigrant or an Etruscan artist with a workshop in Praeneste. A cista is a lidded, cylindrical container decorated with engravings with cast figures on top and cast feet; they are thought to be gifts both for the living and ceremonial offerings for the dead. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordart online.com/)
Collection:
Adjunct Module B: Italian Art
Identifier:
7A3-E-VG-FCP-A06
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Ficoroni Cist