Monteleone chariot

Monteleone chariot unearthed in Perugia, dated 530 BC.

The Monteleone chariot is an Etruscan chariot dated to c. 530 BC, considered one of the world's great archaeological finds. It was uncovered in 1902 in Monteleone di Spoleto, Umbria, Italy, in an underground tomb covered by a mound, and is currently a major attraction in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Though about 300 ancient chariots are known to still exist, only six are reasonably complete, and the Monteleone chariot is the best-preserved and most complete of all known surviving examples. Carlos Picón, curator of the museum's Greek and Roman department, has called it "the grandest piece of sixth-century Etruscan bronze anywhere in the world".

Description

The central scene; Thetis hands Achilles his armor

Close up on the wheel of the chariot.

The Monteleone chariot was part of a chariot burial, containing the remains of two human corpses, along with two drinking cups. Measuring 131 cm (51+5⁄8 in) in height and designed to be drawn by two horses, the chariot itself is constructed of wood covered with hammered bronze plates and carved ivory decoration. It is thought to be a "parade chariot" rather than one used in warfare.

The bronze plates are decorated with Homeric iconography in relief; the main panel depicts Achilles being handed his replacement armor by his mother, Thetis, after his first set had been fatally lent to Patroklos. Below the helmet is a shield decorated with a Gorgon's head. The left side panel shows two warriors in combat, thought to be Achilles and the Trojan ally Memnon. The right panel shows the apotheosis of Achilles, as he ascends in a chariot pulled by winged horses. The chariot's shaft emerges from the mouth of a boar; the dead deer below the shield may be meant to be shown carried by the boar. Rows of smaller scenes run along the base of the chariot platform. These are thought to show "Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case, a stag and a bull". Two nude male figures flank the central scene.

The chariot's frame and plating are additionally adorned with animals and legendary creatures rendered in detail. The chariot's decorations would also have included inlaid amber and other exotic materials, but only the bronze and ivory decorations have survived. The chariot's wheels have nine spokes (rather than the classical Greek four, the Egyptian six, or the Assyrian and Persian eight; excavated chariots from Celtic burials have up to twelve spokes). Curators at the Museum had long suspected that the chariot's original 1903 reconstruction was not historically accurate. In 1989, under the direction of Italian archaeologist Adriana Emiliozzi, the Metropolitan Museum began a five-year reexamination and restoration of the chariot. During the restoration, it was discovered that the chariot had in fact been originally assembled incorrectly; additionally, evidence was uncovered indicating that the chariot, previously thought to have seen little actual use, had in fact been involved in a serious accident at some point during its life. The newly restored chariot opened to the public on April 20, 2007.

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  Apotheosis of Achilles
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  Combat between Achilles and Memnon
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  Shield, deer, and boar's head
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  Side view of same
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  Combat scene, small scenes below, and nude male
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  Tip of a shaft side piece

History

The Monteleone chariot

It was found in 1902 in Monteleone di Spoleto, near Spoleto in the region of Umbria, by a farmer named Isidoro Vannozzi who inadvertently unearthed it while digging a wine cellar or basement barn. Its history from that time is the subject of controversy. According to some accounts, Vannozzi hid the chariot in his barn, concerned that the authorities might confiscate it, and later sold it to two Frenchmen in exchange for two cows. Another account, related by Vannozzi's son Giuseppe, holds that the chariot was immediately sold as scrap metal, and the proceeds from the sale used to buy roof tiles. Changing hands several times after its initial sale, the chariot was eventually purchased in Paris by J. P. Morgan, who sent it to the Metropolitan Museum in 1903, where its first restoration took place.

In January 2005, the commune of Monteleone began a campaign aimed at recovering the chariot from the Met; their efforts, however, did not receive the backing of the Italian government. The Metropolitan Museum has responded that the chariot was "purchased in good faith". A full-size copy was made in the mid-20th century, which is on display in Monteleone.

External links

• Images & description at metmuseum.org
• News report on the controversy at telegraph.co.uk (2005)
• Additional discussion of the legal case for repatriation (2007)