Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

V.43 right lion head, front V.44 right lion head, top view V.45 right lion head, bottom view
to areas of green corrosion. There is solder visible under the
corrosion on the reverse of the outermost flat surfaces, as
well as on the obverse surface of the outermost ring. The
corrosion in the central well may relate to an earlier inlay or
other material that held moisture in that area.
Technical observations. in the 1903 restoration the two
nailed bosses were erroneously switched (proper right ↔
proper left). They were returned to their original positions
in the most recent restoration, and, indeed, the cut fitting
the youth’s hair revealed that cat. 6 matches the head of
the kouros on the right. Consequently, it was observed that
the other boss — the dented one (cat. 5) — belongs to the
right side, where all the highest relief work on the sheet
was damaged when the chariot fell over onto its right side
(see Section iii.d). moreover, it was seen that the craftsman
had to widen the cut on the upper corner of the side panel
(cat. 4a) when it was first assembled in order to nail the left
boss to the wooden structure. The nails are of different sizes,
suggesting that one of the two was replaced when the right
boss (cat. 5) was repaired in antiquity after the chariot toppled
over. Finally, the bone roundel housed in the museo
archeologico, Florence (see Figure i.12), filled the center of
one of the two bosses; however, i cannot establish whether
both bosses had central bone inlays when the chariot was
built, or whether the roundel was applied to the right boss
only after it was damaged when the vehicle fell over.
Repoussé and tracing. The boss is executed in repoussé
work and is not finished with tracing.
Inlay. The traces of superimposed material in the central
hollow of this boss may indicate the presence of an ivory
inlay (see Section iii.B).
7. Right lion head (Figures V.43 – V.45)
H. of relief (deformed by flattening) 2 in. (5 cm); diam. of
base: exterior 2 1⁄8 – 2 3⁄8 in. (5.5 – 6 cm), interior 1¾ – 2 in.
(4.5 – 5 cm)
Description. The head is executed in very high relief. The
bronze sheet flares out to form a flat border at the base that
was specially created to attach the piece with nails; of the
eleven holes present today only two preserve their original
edges, while the others were either reused or created
ex novo in the 1903 reconstruction. a small indentation in
the metal was made on top of the lion’s head, between its
right eye and ear, to indicate the position of the kouros’s
feet. The head is not framed by a mane. Two oblong protuberances
represent stylized ears, while two small circles
defined with tracing and studded with dots convey the idea
of the warts. The wide, embossed, almond-shaped eyes,
with the irises represented by traced circles, are set under
eyebrows that depart from the nose; there are no pupils. The
eyelashes and eyebrows are finished with tracing. The top
of the nose is depicted by four vertical double fillets in
relief, each with a row of hammered dots; the tip of the nose
and the nostrils are indicated in relief. Three rows of
embossed, elongated, and curved petal-shaped whiskers,
each finished with a line of hammered dots, issue from
between the nostrils. The mouth is closed and the chin is
summarily rendered.
Condition. The piece is damaged, with conspicuous dents as
well as losses and cracks due to pitting corrosion, mostly at
the right eye and brow, and on the muzzle. major losses are
also present in an area close to the left eye. The surface is
largely metallic, with thin brown and thicker black tarnish;
there is massive green corrosion associated with blistering,
especially under the chin and on the brow and outer sides.
There is solder/solder-related corrosion corresponding to
the placement of the kouros’s feet on the top of the head.
Technical observations. See cat. 8.
The Monteleone Chariot V: Catalogue 85