CORTONA | The museums and artifacts in the city

The ETRUSCAN CHANDELIER : A “jewel” of the Museum in Cortona

The Etruscan chandelier is one of the flagships of MAEC. It was found on the 14th of September 1840 by some farmers in Fratta, a location in the countryside near Cortona. The chandelier was restored during the 90s, and it is considered one of the most important pieces of the Etruscan bronze art. The chandelier is made of cast bronze with the technique of lost wax and it was composed by a circular small bathtub that once was used for the collection of the lighter fluid, and a cylindric stem for attack. If you take a look at the iconography of the chandelier is very complex. There are three concentric rows that unfold from the central medallion. On the central part is represented the “Gorgoneion” that is the face of Gorgone or Medusa with her monstrous mask, her feral eyes, mouth wide opened long tusks and tongue out, and with snakes for hair. The chandelier dates back to the half of fourth century BC. Probably the chandelier was created for a particularly important tomb, or most likely for a sacred building.  In fact, near the place where it was found, there is an archaeological area, with many tombs and religious places. Regarding the style and the level of decorations, it seems that this precious object was created by some craftsmen of the Central Etruria, perhaps between Arezzo and Orvieto. Even the famous Chimera of Arezzo, the Mars and the statue of the Orator came from this area. The chandelier was presumably place inside a big sanctuary, suspended from the ceiling, that brightened up all the room with its sixteen torches. The complexity of the decoration, that is a unicum compared to the similar big chandeliers, makes not easy to know if the chandelier could have also a symbolic meaning, among the decorative function. The chandelier is stored inside the museum suspended from the ceiling, inside the room dedicated to the chandelier.