Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

V.37 right nailed boss, front V.38 right nailed boss, back
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secured the boss to the underlying wooden structure
between the front and side panels; the head is spherical and
its shaft quadrangular in section. There are two slightly concave
cuts in the edge of the outermost ring of the boss where
it overlaps the convex edge of the panels.
Condition. The relief is dented in many places, with cracks
and losses of metal in many areas. The obverse surface is
mostly metallic, with superficial brown tarnish and a thin
layer of black corrosion; there are scattered spots of green
corrosion associated with losses. Corrosion and soil accretions
appear on the reverse, with possible solder-related
corrosion present at the outermost ring. The modern nails
with large heads inserted during the 1903 reconstruction
(see Figure i.28) were removed from both bosses during the
most recent restoration and replaced with the original nails
(Figure V.40), which Charles Balliard had inserted into the
edge of the central panel.
Technical observations. The boss is executed in repoussé
and is not finished with tracing. The dent in the boss may
date to an accident that occurred in antiquity, when the
chariot toppled over onto its right side (see the comments
on the kouros [cat. 3c] and Section iii.d). For this and other
observations, see cat. 6.
6. Left nailed boss (Figures V.41, V.42)
Boss: H. of relief 1⁄2 in. (1.3 cm), diam. 2 1⁄2 in. (6.2 cm);
nail: H. as preserved 1 3⁄8 in. (3.5 cm), diam. of head 3⁄8 in.
(.9 cm)
Description. Same shape as cat. 5.
Condition. The element is in good condition. The cracking
associated with the central hole is a result of deformation,
as if a nail that was larger in diameter than the hole was
inserted. The cut in the outermost ring of the bronze sheet
was not caused by fracturing, but dates to antiquity: it may
V.39 right nailed boss, top view
V.40 nail related to the right nailed boss
have been made when the boss was applied at the level of
the kouros’s head — indeed, the cut matches his locks.
The surface is mostly metallic with superficial brown tarnish
and a thin layer of black corrosion; the holes present
on the surface and the loss along the outer edge correspond
V.41 left nailed boss, front
V.42 left nailed boss, top view