Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

11. Frieze on proper right side (Figures V.52 – V.55)
H. 3 7⁄8 – 4 in. (10 – 10.2 cm), l. as reconstructed 19¾ in.
(50 cm), H. of rectangular cutout 1¼ in. (3.2 cm), diam. of
roundel 1 7⁄8 in. (4.8 cm), diam. of semicircular cut 2 in.
(5 cm), thickness of bronze sheet .07 cm
Description. The bronze sheet is of roughly trapezoidal
shape and nailed along the edges. its function was to cover
the wooden connection between the chariot chassis and
the axle — the shock-absorber system. Thus, its short ends
were articulated as follows: on the left side, there is a short
vertical border above a concave roundel and then an arcshaped
cut. on the right, a diagonal cut from right to left
occurs above a semicircular one (to accommodate a roundel?)
and another arc-shaped cut. on the lower edge, there
is a rec tangular opening, now part of a larger gap. a border
finished with tracing runs around the upper edge and the
left vertical edge, while the lower one is now lost. The sheet
is decorated with figures in low relief and finished with
tracing and chasing.
The decoration of the frieze faces right, in the direction
the chariot moves. at the left, a bearded centaur with a
human torso and equine hindquarters rests his forequarters
on a low, voluted stool (see Figure V.54) and holds
a branch carrying a hare suspended by its four legs. Then
comes a winged figure walking toward a youth who holds
a panther around its neck and belly. in order to fit the
restricted space, the heads of the figures are on one level
and the figures assume appropriate poses. The centaur’s
hind legs are drawn up under him. The forelegs are part
of the larger loss already documented in the drawing of
1903. The winged figure and the youth are represented in
the Knielauf fashion — the archaic convention for conveying
rapid movement — in contrast to the panther, which
crouches motionless on its hindquarters. The feline follows
a traditional convention with a frontal face and raised front
paw; its left paw is not depicted.
all the figures with human bodies wear abbreviated,
plain, short-sleeved chitons and have the same pointed profiles.
The youth’s and the centaur’s long hair ends in spiral
curls. The surviving wing of the central figure — displayed
behind the body in a rather inorganic manner — has a broad
band of feathers and scales ending in two rows of long
feathers. all the figures are outlined with chasing and their
anatomical details are executed with tracing.
Condition. in the central area of the frieze there are major
losses at the head, wing, and leg of the central figure; the
centaur’s forelegs; and part of his body. a drawing of the
centaur made in 1903 (Figure V.54) illustrates a fragment
of the body, and thus it is included in our description.
Cracks and minor losses are present in other areas. The left
roundel became detached from the rest of the bronze sheet
in antiquity.
The surface is primarily metallic, with areas of compact
brown tarnish and black corrosion. There is green corrosion
corresponding to the areas of loss. Solder/solder-related corrosion
(on the outline of the overlapping ram) on the front
end overlaps the panther’s head and extends to the farthest
tip on an undecorated area; this is also visible on the reverse
within the recess of the outer edge. The reverse surface is
predominantly green corrosion, supporting the idea that it
touched another surface, such as wood, resulting in prolonged
contact with moisture in these areas.
Technical observations. all the nail holes seem ancient, as
indicated by observation under the microscope. Thus, the
nail holes surrounding the tear in the sheet around the roundel
are signs of an ancient intervention to repair the damage
caused when the chariot fell over onto its right side. The part
of the sheet that was inserted in 1903 to complete the lower
left corner (Figure V.55) was removed during the recent restoration,
since comparison with other vehicles (see Sections
ii.a and ii.B and the results of technical analysis revealed it
was not part of the original revetment. The crouching ram
(cat. 13) was mounted with solder on the upper right corner
in antiquity; this addition does not date back to the time the
chariot was built, but rather seems to date to a later period
of the vehicle’s life as described in Section iii.d.
Repoussé and tracing. The frieze was first executed in low
relief from the inside, and then the sheet was reversed and
the figures outlined by chasing on the front. The figures were
finished with tracing, using the same technique adopted for
all the other bronze panels, though the tracing tool here
may have had a thicker, shorter point. The rectangular,
rather than triangular, shape of the imbricated toolmarks
creating the lines suggests that the tool was held vertically
instead of obliquely.
Alloy analyses of the bronze (percent by weight). Frieze:
Fe .08, Co nd, ni .02, Cu 89.2, Zn nd, as .05, ag nd, Sn 10.6,
Sb nd, Pb nd; roundel: Fe .09, Co nd, ni .02, Cu 88.5,
Zn nd, as .04, ag nd, Sn 10.3, Sb .02, Pb nd; 1903 addition
to lower corner: Fe .11, Co .01, ni .02, Cu 88.3, Zn nd,
as .05, ag nd, Sn 11.6, Sb .02, Pb nd.
12. Frieze on proper left side (Figures V.56 – V.58)
H. 3 7⁄8 – 4 in. (10 – 10.2 cm), l. 19 7⁄8 in. (50.3 cm), rectangular
cutout 1 x 2 1⁄8 in. (2.4 x 5.5 cm), diam. of roundel 1¾ in.
(4.6 cm), thickness of bronze sheet .07 cm
Description. This frieze is of the same shape as and the mirror
image of the proper right frieze and serves the same
purpose. The decoration in low relief depicts two symmetrical
facing lions, the left one felling a bull, the right one
attacking a stag.
The lion on the left sinks its teeth into the bull’s back as
it seizes its body with its front paws; the lion’s hindquarters
The Monteleone Chariot V: Catalogue 89