ABSTRACT

The Etruscans were famous among the peoples of ancient Italy for their production of valuable bronzes. The Roman poet Horace mentions the Etruscan statuettes, tyrrhena sigilla, which represented true treasures in the precious collections of the wealthy Romans at the time of Augustus (Ep. 2.2.180–181) and Pliny the Elder refers to large bronze statues, signa tuscanica that were known everywhere (HN 34.16.34). Pliny also talks about an incident, described by Metrodorus of Scepsis who reported the Roman theft of 2,000 statues in the temple at Volsinii in 264 bc, votive offerings of the faithful to the gods. The episode makes us realize how much interest there was for bronze in Antiquity, a material that could be melted down for other use. Furthermore, we see how much the Etruscans were dedicated to practices of devotion: the Etruscan votive bronze statuettes, the so-called “idols,” constituted valuable offerings to the deities. Such ex voto bronzes were usually deposited at the sanctuaries, attached to a stone base through the bronze strips intentionally left underneath the feet after the statuette had been made. Nevertheless, when the cult place was moved, or the votive offerings had filled up all the available space, they were buried in large pits (stipes), always located within the sacred areas. We should also remember the presence of those votive bronzes thrown into sacred places such as rivers, springs, or wells, of which the territory around Arezzo preserves numerous examples (such as Brolio and Monte Falterona).