Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

V.15 left ear of the boar
protome, front
V.16 left ear of the boar
protome, back
The lip areas above the tusk sockets are also executed in
relief. The nostrils are not indicated, and the lower jaw does
not seem to have been envisaged by the bronzeworker. Two
large, irregular holes were made in the bronze sheet for the
ears (cats. 2b, 2c); the ivory tusks (cat. 2d) were slotted into
two smaller holes and attached to the bronze pole sheathing
by a lost connecting piece.
Condition. Some cracks and tears in the bronze sheet are
concentrated mainly on the upper part of the head, where
recent conservation repaired a marked loss of metal on the
crest. There is a slight dent above the right eye. Part of the
bend in the crest dates back to the moment in antiquity
when it was assembled, as the same deformation can be
seen in the outline traced on the front panel. The holes for
the nails that attached the protome to the pole were reused
when the chariot was assembled in 1903.
The outer surface is primarily covered with brown tarnish
and a thin layer of black corrosion; there are patches of
heavy green corrosion. The interior surface shows mottled
dull black corrosion with spots of the same green corrosion.
There is an accumulation of iron corrosion inside the proper
right cheek, and a corresponding “spongy” metallic spot on
other side. There is a tan accretion inside the left cheek.
There are no ancient solder joins.
Technical observations. The sheet is cut at the back so that
it tightly abuts the panel below the deer’s back. The oblique
cut was deliberate, to accommodate the angle of the pole.
The recent restoration demonstrated that the pole was
attached at three different angles in antiquity. 3 That the lowest
position dates to the time when the chariot was made is
shown by the hammered rim of the sheet. The two later
points of attachment can be located thanks to the additional
V.17 right ear of the boar
protome, front
V.18 right ear of the boar
protome, back
chisel cuts. For a discussion of the meaning of such evidence,
see Technical observations in the description of the
pole (cat. 16).
Repoussé and tracing. The tools and the way they were used
are the same as those adopted for the front panel.
Inlay. as previously mentioned, the eye cavities were made
to contain inlays of another material; ivory fragment 25
seems to fit the left eye cavity.
Commentary. The boar protome with its forelegs was
designed by the artist as an integral part of the scene
depicted on the front panel. The animal is shown running
forward in the same direction as the chariot. The intention
is to show the deer upside down slung over the boar’s back
(Figures iii.3, iii.6a), a subject depicted on other categories
of artifacts (see Sections iii.B, iii.e, note 76). a boar protome,
albeit not part of a figured panel, occurs in a similar
position on Chariot i from Castel San mariano near Perugia,
which is later than the monteleone chariot (see Sections
ii.a, iii.B), and on a different type of car depicted on certain
etruscan terracotta plaques, which are also later (530 – 510
B.C.). 4 in our case, the artist decided not to depict the animal’s
lower jaw: indeed, there is no visible point of fracture
suggesting that it was detached from the rest of the protome,
nor are there any traces of attachment on the underlying
thin layer sheathing the pole.
2b. Left ear of boar protome (Figures V.15, V.16)
l. without modern pin 3 1⁄2 in. (8.9 cm), W. 2 in. (5.1 cm),
thickness .13 cm
Description. a heart-shaped, smoothly cut piece of bronze
sheet. The base was crumpled to make the ear canal and
scalloped so it could be inserted into the slot made in the
The Monteleone Chariot V: Catalogue 73