“Reading the Ritual”: Representation and Meaning on an Etruscan Funerary Monument in Perugia

Abstract

Abstract An unusual circular funerary monument in the National Archaeological Museum in Perugia (inv. no. 634) depicts a remarkable, multifigured narrative combining generic and unique scenes of Etruscan funerary ritual. Despite its singular character, this Archaic-period monument has never been the focus of an in-depth study. The monument features a frieze with two distinct scenes, each composed around a central focal point. On one side appears a prothesis scene in which a corpse occupies the central space with figures aligned on each side of the funerary bed. On the opposite side, figures are arranged on both sides of an altar featuring a burning fire, a scene without comparison in Etruscan funerary iconography. Though many of the figures have parallels within Etruscan imagery in both gesture and in attribute, much about this monument from its morphology to its pendant scenes is exceptional. Prothesis scenes, which appear almost exclusively in the Chiusi area and only during the Archaic period, are typically combined with images of funerary banqueting, dancing, and/or lamentation scenes. The pairing here with the altar/fire image raises interesting interpretive questions about the constitutive effect of these two events and how these may have been read and comprehended by the ancient viewer. Formally, the scenes invite connection and comparison, perhaps even to convey a symbolic and/or temporal relationship between these two events. The prothesis may have preceded and necessitated some sort of ritual purification by fire. Alternatively, the fire may reference a type of sacrifice part of funerary ritual. Neither, however, was part of the iconographic tradition. In attempting to these scenes, this paper uses a proxemics-based approach (a model used frequently in New World archaeology), to understand how the formal and physical characteristics of the monument reflect aspects of ancient visuality that is, the interplay between viewer, perception, and space. The figuration, composition, and morphology of this monument suggest that these scenes were intended less as narratives to be read and more as evocations of a ritual landscape whose broad contours could be perceived and understood with even a cursory engagement. These scenes are the visual evocation of ritual performance and environments. Though unusual in many aspects, the Perugia monument may have more far-reaching implications for ancient viewership.