by Serena Paolini and Eleonora Vatta
Casanatense archaeology
Characteristic of the 17th and 18th centuries is an encyclopedic vision of culture, which is also reflected in the creation of collections both private and accessible to the general public, composed of objects of historical-artistic, archaeological and scientific interest, as well as natural and exotic curiosities. The activity of the Dominican fathers of Minerva can also be placed in this context, who pursued the objective of increasing the bibliographical heritage of the Casanatense Library and at the same time enriching its collections in a museum sense. The full realization of this goal was achieved with the prefect Giovan Battista Audiffredi (1714-1794), antiquarian, numismatist and collector of archaeological finds, as well as naturalist and astronomer, who was responsible for the idea of creating a museolum located within the rooms of the Library.
Here we wanted to recover the small section of objects of archaeological interest of various origins and provenances that remain today. From this extremely heterogeneous set, two thematic itineraries were created, namely Lucerne and Materials of Etruscan context (ex voto and vase forms).
LUCERNES
The oil lamp was born around the second millennium BC as a practical lighting tool. Over the centuries it has undergone technical and formal evolutions that from open profiles (“bowl” with a rim sometimes shaped to accommodate the wick) gradually arrive at models with a closed tank and a more pronounced spout, made with a bivalve matrix.
Among the most interesting typologies we find the so-called “Firmalampen”, so called because of the presence of a stamp in relief on the bottom (indicating the name of the workshop), produced in the Po Valley from the 1st century AD to the 4th century AD. The specimen owned by the Casanatense Library (inv. no. 290131 + 290150), thanks to the stamp “FORTIS”, can be traced back to the Modena workshop of L. Aemilius Fortis, active from the mid-1st to the 2nd century AD; it features a decorative element in the centre of the disc, presumably a mask of a child.
Another notable example in the collection is a lamp (inv. no. 290132) attributable to the early Christian context due to the presence on the disk of the monogram of Christ within a circular crown flanked by two palms. Thanks to a note dating back to the time of its entry into the library, we know that it was found in the cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria in the winter of 1865 and purchased in September of the same year by Father Gatti, prefect of Casanatense.
Between the 2nd and 3rd century AD, there was a decline in quality in the production of lamps, leading to models with a rounded body, a spout not clearly distinct from it and with beaded decoration on the upper part. This production can be considered late as it is attested until the beginning of the 5th century AD; two lamps belonging to the Library’s collection can be dated to these years (inv. nos. 290129, 290130).
MATERIALS FROM THE ETRUSCAN CONTEXT
EX VOTO
Ex voto refers to the reproduction in terracotta or other material of external parts or internal organs of the human body (but not only), offered as a gift to a deity. The gift accompanied a request for protection or healing by the offerer or represented gratitude “for grace received”. This custom has been widespread in many cultures since ancient times and continues today. The first attestations in the Etruscan-Lazio area are recorded between the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th century BC and expire within the first years of the 1st century BC.
The small collection owned by the Casanatense Library, consisting of 19 ex voto, most of which are anatomical, can be ascribed to this cultural sphere. Specifically, there are 14 heads (inv. nos. from 290114 to 290127), both female and male, with or without a veil: the representation of figures of sacrificers with a veiled head is closely linked to the ritus Romanus, while in some coastal centers of southern Etruria the typically Greek and Etruscan custom of sacrificing open head (without a veil) persists.
Added to these are a figure of a seated mother breastfeeding a newborn baby (inv. no. 290140), a leg (inv. no. 290139) with a shod foot (the sole of the sandal is present; the laces, no longer visible today, were probably painted over) and an anatomical element (inv. no. 290128) which is difficult to interpret (perhaps a male bladder or a prolapsed uterus).
Finally, two animal figures of cattle and horses (inv. nos. 290137 and 290138), whose gift could perhaps have had the purpose of asking the divinity for the healing of the corresponding domestic animals in flesh and blood; to consecrate them to it; or to replace them with the more indispensable and expensive real animals in the sacrificial rite.
VASCULAR FORMS
In addition to the votive offerings, three vase forms belong to the Etruscan context. The oldest are the kantharos (a drinking cup with two tall handles) and the chalice (inv. nos. 290143 and 290144), dating back to between the end of the 7th century BC and the middle of the 6th century BC, in bucchero, a particular type of pottery worked on the wheel characterised by a uniform black colour (both on the surface and in the mixture), due to the raw material and the firing technique. Furthermore, the collection includes a black-painted guttus (inv. no. 290145), with a decoration on the upper part of the disc depicting a child’s face. The name derives from gutta (drop), because the liquid contained (presumably a precious ointment or an expensive perfume) was poured drop by drop.