Explanatory notes on Nancy A. Winter’s database on Etruscan architectural terracottas
- The database is not all inclusive, either in terms of all known fragments or in terms of full bibliography. The core of the database consists of fragments published by A. Andrén, Architectural Terracottas from Etrusco-Italic Temples, Lund/Leipzig 1939-1940, plus more recently excavated fragments studied by the author in preparation for publication of a book on Etruscan architectural terracottas. At the time of study, 1995-1997, since the exact scope of the proposed publication had not yet been determined, all fragments dating from the 7th cent. B.C. to the 2nd/1st cent. B.C. were studied in the museums visited, although eventual publication only included material through 510 B.C. for reasons of space and time: Symbols of Wealth and Power: Architectural Terracotta Decoration in Etruria and Central Italy, 640-510 B.C. (MAAR Suppl. 9) Ann Arbor 2009. Updates have been made to bibliography for the pieces studied then, where possible, but few additional pieces have been added. Bibliography and chronological indications for the post-Archaic material remain scant; for the most part, no bibliography dealing with iconography has been included. The geographical range of sites is Etruria from Marzabotto in the north to Latium with Satricum in the south. In collections that included Campanian architectural terracottas, they were also studied, but no museums in Campania were visited. Photography was not allowed in Paris, Musée du Louvre, or in the Vatican, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco.
- Drawings and plans published in Symbols of Wealth and Power: Architectural Terracotta Decoration in Etruria and Central Italy, 640-510 B.C. (MAAR Suppl. 9) Ann Arbor 2009, have been linked at a resolution of 600 dpi in tiff format and can be downloaded and published without special permission, thanks to an agreement with the University of Michigan Press.
They should be credited in publication as follows: Drawing by Renate Sponer Za for Winter, Symbols of Wealth and Power, 2009, Ill. xxx.
Patricia S. Lulof should be credited for Illustrations 6.17, 6.19, 6.20, and 6.21.
For reconstruction drawings of individual roofs, a separate entry in the database has been created, with the drawing(s) and plan linked.
These are searchable in the field Bibliography in the Advanced Search menu under the roof designation or plan number given in the publication, preceded by an asterisk
(e.g., *Roof 2-18, *Plan 14). A box will appear giving the pertinent bibliography. Select it, then click on Browse from the menu at the bottom of the screen,
and the search will take you to the record where you can view and download the drawing.
Dotted lines in the drawings indicate parts that are not preserved but are conjectured. For plans, the bibliography is now cited for the source used in the redrawing by Renate Sponer Za.
- Photographs are at low resolution and are watermarked so that they cannot be downloaded or published.
- All measurements are in centimeters unless otherwise stated. The scale for plans, however, is in meters.
- Abbreviations include H = height; W = width; D = depth; Diam = diameter; Dist. = distance; Th = thickness; est. = estimated; R = restored; max. = maximum; MP = maximum preserved; + following a dimension indicates that the full dimension is not preserved.
- All museum designations reflect the locations at the time of study, with a few exceptions where changes were known to me.
- All descriptions of figural sculpture (including antefixes with human head) follow the convention of referring to the orientation of the figure, not of the viewer (e.g., left arm, right cheek).
- All descriptions of non-figural elements of the roof (e.g., pan tiles, cover tiles, ridge tiles) refer to the orientation of the piece on the roof (e.g., upper edge, lower edge, etc.).
- There can be more than one object with the same inventory number, so searches should continue until the desired piece is located.
- The photographs were taken for study purposes, often in unfavorable circumstances with no natural light, poor artificial light, or no light except a flashlight. As a result, many were shot at slow speeds with a fast film, producing movement or grainy texture. Even the poor photographs have been linked as they can help for recognition of the object.
- Because of poor natural light in several museums and storerooms, it was not always possible to do Munsell Soil Chart readings for clay and paint.
- Data entry was done in great part by Randi Graham and Alessandra Ciarletti, to whom I express my warmest thanks.
- Corrections and additional bibliography can be sent to Nancy A. Winter at nancyawinter@gmail.com
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