Etruscan world

Seianti reclines on the lid of her terracotta sarcophagus, holding a mirror and wearing carefully described clothing and jewellery. Her name is inscribed on the lid. The figure gives a person an enduring presence above the container made for her burial. The Etruscan world occupied parts of Italy before Roman rule. This gallery brings funerary practices together with metalworking, religion and objects associated with elite life. The survival of tomb material gives burial a strong place within that evidence. On Seianti’s sarcophagus, look at the colour as well as the modelling. Painted terracotta combines the shaping of the clay with a finished surface that could describe skin, cloth and ornament. The figure’s pose and possessions present her in a particular way, leaving you with more than the outline of a burial container.