Sarcophagus of the Spouses

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Sarcofago degli Sposi) is a tomb effigy considered one of the masterpieces of Etruscan art. The Etruscans lived in Italy between two main rivers, the Arno and the Tiber, and were in contact with the Ancient Greeks through trade, mainly during the Orientalizing and Archaic Period. The Etruscans were well known for their terracotta sculptures and funerary art, largely sarcophagi and urns. The sarcophagus is a late sixth-century BCE Etruscan anthropoid sarcophagus that was found at the Banditaccia necropolis in Caere and is now located in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, Rome. This sarcophagus is made out of terracotta and was once brightly painted. It depicts a man and woman laying on a kline, a dining couch with cushions to help keep the spouses propped up, all of which have been stylized. The body proportions of the man and woman have been elongated as was common in the Archaic period. Their hair has been styled in a plaited fashion, although the woman's braids are hanging over her shoulders while wearing a soft cap, and the man has braids behind that are fanned out over his shoulders and back. The faces of the couple show them smiling, and their eyes are distinctly almond-shaped, giving them a happy look. There is a line across the middle of the sarcophagus that shows that it was made as separate pieces. Their legs and hips have been stylized to fit better as a lid, with the only distinguishing figural features showing up at the end of the lid in the shape of their feet. The man and woman's feet are distinguished from each other, as the man is shown barefoot and the woman wearing pointed-toed shoes, which is an Etruscan characteristic. However, the marked contrast between the high-relief busts and the very flattened legs is typically Etruscan, along with the interest of the upper half of the figures with their expressive faces and arms. This sarcophagus was created in four separate pieces that were fired separately and then put together later on.