Etruscan Coins with Janus and a Marble Urn Carved as an Etruscan Throne, 1842

An original antique lithograph from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842), with a bronze green wash on the coins and a brown wash on the urn. The upper image shows two coins, each drawn with both faces joined by a bar: on the left the obverses, each a two faced head of Janus wearing a broad conical cap; on the right the reverses, one with a dolphin and letters in the Etruscan alphabet, the other with an upright knotted staff, a crescent and further letters. The lower image shows the front of a marble urn: two winged griffins carved along the top, a band of rosettes below, side supports with lion masks, palmettes and acanthus leaves, two lines of Etruscan inscription across the center and a low bench with turned legs beneath.

The top margin is lettered "Tom: IV", "ITALIA" and "Tav. 37". Under the upper image: "Monete rappresentanti Giano-Lucumone" (Coins representing Janus, Lucumo). Under the lower image: "Urna marmorea rappresentante un Trono Etrusco" (Marble urn representing an Etruscan throne).

Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings, was shown with two faces looking in opposite directions. Lucumo was the Latin form of the Etruscan title for a ruler or chief magistrate. The Etruscans placed the ashes of the dead in small chests of stone or terracotta, often carved with relief decoration and inscribed with the name of the deceased; their alphabet was written from right to left.

A quiet, tonal plate that sits well with other antiquarian or archaeological prints.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.