Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

organic material; its original appearance can no longer be
reconstructed. Behind the lion head, each bronze sheet was
articulated with three ribs, the central one being wider than
the others. The edges were bent in at a right angle so they
could be nailed to the lost support; some of the bronze nails
are still in place.
The lion heads are elongated and stylized. The oblong
and slightly folded ears have some volume, but are only
somewhat articulated. The mane with flamelike tufts issues
from a band executed in relief with large hammered dots
separated by rows of dots between lines. rows of dots, with
and without framing lines, divide the lion’s forehead, fill the
warts, depict a fold on the nose, and highlight the relief of
the whiskers and the cavities of the nostrils; scattered dots
cover the nose. in the eyes both irises and pupils are rendered
by double concentric incised lines. The eyelashes and
eyebrows are finished with tracing.
Condition. one of the two elements is intact, while the nose
and left eye of the other lion are flattened and show three
areas of metal loss (in the left eye and ear and in the hole
beneath the muzzle) plus diffuse cracks. The exterior surfaces
of the heads are partially metallic with a thin film of
brown tarnish and areas of compact black or green corrosion;
there is some blistering on the muzzles; the attaching
elements are largely covered with more massive green corrosion;
the interior surfaces are mottled metallic, black, and
dark and light green.
Technical observations. as elsewhere, the reliefs were produced
in the repoussé technique from the inside. The surface
finishing was completed with tracing, punching, and
chasing.
19 – 20. Proper right and proper left wheels
(Figures V.72 – V.75)
Bronze, iron, and wood
each wheel: diam. without iron tire 24 1⁄2 in. (62 cm); felloes:
H. 2 1⁄2 in. (6.5 cm); spokes: l. 7 1⁄8 in. (18 cm); nave:
l. 16 1⁄8 in. (41 cm), diam. of stock 4 7⁄8 in. (12.5 cm), diam.
of neck 3 3⁄8 in. (8.5 cm); iron tire: W. 1 in. (2.5 cm)
Description. The wooden part of each wheel is composed
of a double felloe, nine spokes, and a revolving nave, and
is completely sheathed with a bronze sheet and fitted with
an iron tire. X-rays (see Figure V.75) show that the outer
layer of the felloe is made from segments of planks (an indeterminable
number of segments), while the inner layer is
made from a single bent board. 8 The iron tire is nailed, with
the nails spaced about 4 3⁄8 in. (11 cm) apart. The heads of
the nails were probably countersunk into the surface of the
tire, sitting flush with the surface. The tire is probably formed
from a single band of iron that was hot-worked into a circle;
an X-ray of the proper left wheel clearly shows the junction
of the ends of the band, with nails securing each end. The
spokes are inserted into the inner layer and do not come in
V.72 Proper right wheel
V.73 Bronze revetments from the arms and stock, proper right wheel
The Monteleone Chariot V: Catalogue 97