Smiling Spouses

2/8/2021

In this cozy 519 BC Etruscan "Sarcophagus of the Spouses," man and woman share the couch, reflecting the greater status of women in that society. Missing from her right hand is a vial of perfume, which she would be trying to pour into her husband's open hand, and, from her left hand, a pomegranate, symbol of immortality. Their flattened legs are an Etruscan convention.

2 Comments

Peter Graham

2/8/2021 07:20:03 am

Thanks again, Gene, for this newest piece of art. Lili and the kids and I saw a lot of these spousal sarcophagi in Volterra, Italy, in Tuscany, in 2014, and Madeline and I saw a few more in Fiesole, above Florence, in 2019.

Was curious, though: did Etruscan women have greater status than Etruscan men in general or did Etruscan women have greater status vis-a-vis most woman of that period--Roman women, for example?

Have always been curious about the Etruscans, ever since spending the year in Arezzo, one of the 12 famous Etruscan cities of antiquity.

Thanks for pointing out the the flattened legs on the sculpture, which I never really noticed before.

Helen Byers link

2/11/2022 06:21:13 pm

So interesting, Gene. Thanks for those details! His hand above her shoulder also looks like it was holding something. (I wonder what...!)

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Smiling Spouses

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