Sarcophagus Of The Spouses Analysis

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses was created out of terracotta in 520 BCE during the Etruscan period. It was found in an acropolis in Italy and was most likely commissioned by a person with elite status. The sarcophagus is painted terracotta and has anthropoid figures. The figures are a reclining man and woman on a stylized Kline, a cushion used for banquets by the Etruscans. The man has his arm around the woman, and the figures also have pointed toes, which is characteristic of Etruscan art. The bodies are stylized; they have odd proportions as their torsos and hips are facing the viewer but their legs twist out from the hips. The artifact is representative of the cultural values of the Etruscans because the sarcophagus demonstrates not only their funerary art or the level of their technical achievement but it depicts how men and women interacted. This was one of first Etruscan pieces to demonstrate that

It was created in 420 BCE. It it a stele with a relief sculpture made of marble and paint. It has strong lines, is idealized, and is naturalistic. It was used as an athenian grave stele to show women’s civic importance. In the composition, a man is sitting on the right while a standing woman examines her jewelry. Due to the fact that she examines her jewelry demonstrates that she had a domestic importance. The footstool represents power, hierarchy, and wealth. The pyxis was an object associated with weddings, and the jewelry box could represent dowry. This piece could be associated with a Greek marriage law enacted at the time stating that athenian women had to marry athenian men. Thus, by depicting this woman who was to be married to the man, the piece represents women’s appreciation in greek culture as domestic beings. Additionally, it is interesting that the law would have been created by men so women’s respect in society would have been determined by men, following patriarchal