Etruscan urn's polychromy restored after 1966 Florence flood

"The Bottarone Urn, an extraordinary Etruscan cinerary urn with a sculpture of a married couple on the lid, has been comprehensively restored to vivid polychromy 60 years after it was caked in mud from the 1966 Arno River flood of Florence. The major new conservation has restored the natural luminosity of the alabaster and revived the intensity of its original painted colors and patterns."

"The urn dates to between 425 and 380 B.C. and is exceptional for the quality of its material—alabaster with delicate grey veining—and artistry, both in the carving and in detailed polychrome painting. Its subject matter is also unusual for the period. The lid depicts a man reclining on a kline holding a patera in his left hand and reaching his right arm out to embrace his wife."

"Etruscan sarcophagi with married couples on the lid were a popular motif in earlier periods, but when this one was made, cinerary urn lids typically featured semi-recumbent individuals or the deceased with a winged female demon. The diagnostic examinations also identified for the first time the presence of Egyptian blue pigment."

The Bottarone Urn is an exceptional Etruscan cinerary urn dating to 425-380 B.C., crafted from alabaster with delicate grey veining and featuring intricate polychrome painting. The lid depicts an unusual subject for its period: a reclining man on a kline holding a patera while embracing his seated wife removing her veil. Discovered in 1864 in Bottarone, Perugia, the urn entered the National Archaeological Museum of Florence in 1887. During the catastrophic 1966 Arno River flood, which killed 100 people and devastated Florence, the urn was caked in mud. Recent comprehensive restoration has revived its natural alabaster luminosity and original painted colors, while diagnostic examinations identified Egyptian blue pigment for the first time.

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