Bronze Figure of Embracing Man and Woman
Files
Collection Date
11-12-2025
Model Creation Date
03/27/2025
Time Period
4th century BCE
Abstract
This embracing couple – a man and woman, both nude – originally formed the handle of the lid of a bronze cista, a cylindrical cosmetic box. The couple’s loving embrace embodies a happy marriage and may indicate that the box was presented as a wedding gift. Cistae were the local product of Praeneste (present-day Palestrina), an Etruscan outpost southeast of Rome in Latium. Over 100 complete specimens are known to have survived. They were mostly recovered in illicit excavations during the 19th century from the tombs of the necropolis at Praeneste. While they served a funerary purpose to accompany the deceased in the afterlife, they have also functioned as toiletry boxes in daily life. Larger examples may have been used in ritual contexts.
Keywords
etruscan, bronze-figurine, archaeology
Extent
1 3D Model
Media Type
Models (Representations); Renderings (Drawings)
Format
Digital Only
Download Size
37MB
Geometry
476.3k Triangles
Materials
1
Rigged Geometries
No
Scale Transformations
No
Textures
1
UV Layers
Yes
Vertex Colors
No
Vertices
238.1k
Recommended Citation
USF Institute for Digital Exploration, "Bronze Figure of Embracing Man and Woman" (2025). USF IDEx - TMA Etruscan Collection. 6.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etruscan/6
