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Source Description
Cistae were containers used to safeguard precious objects, including mirrors, perfume flasks, and cosmetics. A particular type of cista was made during the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE in Praeneste, a site in Latium (the region around Rome) that was heavily influenced by Etruscan culture. The elaborately engraved scenes are thought to imitate famous, but now lost, Greek wall-paintings. The ancient metalworker often pressed a white substance into the engraved lines in order to accentuate the decoration. The handles commonly take the form of human figures. Many artists in other early Italian cultures similarly incorporated figures of humans in functional objects.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
31708
label
Cista with Cover Depicting the Conflict of the Gauls and Etruscans
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
31708
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Cista with Cover Depicting the Conflict of the Gauls and Etruscans
description
Cistae were containers used to safeguard precious objects, including mirrors, perfume flasks, and cosmetics. A particular type of cista was made during the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE in Praeneste, a site in Latium (the region around Rome) that was heavily influenced by Etruscan culture. The elaborately engraved scenes are thought to imitate famous, but now lost, Greek wall-paintings. The ancient metalworker often pressed a white substance into the engraved lines in order to accentuate the decoration. The handles commonly take the form of human figures. Many artists in other early Italian cultures similarly incorporated figures of humans in functional objects.
provenance
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
3rd century BCE (Hellenistic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
cistae (toiletry containers)
covers
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
40.5
height
24.5
depth
24.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 15 15/16 x W: 9 5/8 x D: 9 5/8 in. (40.5 x 24.5 x 24.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Etruscan
med
bronze
creator_ids
6291
collection_ids
ROM
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
7bd31119db806b71
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
24caee84b7308ac8
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no