Chimera of Arezzo 3952875 211756133 2008-05-11T23:30:42Z Thijs!bot 1392310 robot Adding: [[ru:Химера из Ареццо]] {{Sculpture | image = [[image:Chimera di Arezzo.jpg|270px]] | title = Chimera of Arezzo | artist = | year = c. [[400 BC]] | type = [[bronze]] | height = | city = [[Florence]] | museum = [[Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze|Museo Archeologico Nazionale]] }} The bronze "'''Chimera of Arezzo'''" is one of the best known examples of the art of the [[Etruscans]]. It was found in [[Arezzo]], an ancient Etruscan and Roman city in [[Tuscany]], in 1553 and was quickly claimed for the collection of the [[Medici]] [[Grand Duke of Tuscany]] [[Cosimo I de' Medici|Cosimo I]], who placed it publicly in the [[Palazzo Vecchio]], and placed the smaller bronzes from the trove in his own ''[[Cabinet (architecture)|studiolo]]'' at [[Palazzo Pitti]], where "the Duke took great pleasure in cleaning them by himself, with some goldsmith's tools" [[Benvenuto Cellini]] reported in his autobiography. The Chimera is still conserved in [[Florence]], now in the [[National Archaeological Museum (Florence)|Archaeological Museum]]. It is approximately 80 cm in height. In [[Greek mythology]] the monstruous [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]] ravaged its homeland, [[Lycia]], until it was slain by [[Bellerophon]]. This bronze was at first identified as a lion by its discoverers in Arezzo, for its tail, which would have taken the form of a serpent, is missing. It was soon recognized as representing the chimera of myth and in fact, among smaller bronze pieces and fragments brought to Florence, a section of the tail was soon recovered, according to [[Giorgio Vasari]]. The present bronze tail is an 18th-century restoration. The Chimera was one of a [[hoard]] of bronzes that had been carefully buried for safety some time in [[classical antiquity|Antiquity]]. They were come upon by accident, as trenches were being dug just outside the Porta San Laurentino in the city walls. A bronze replica now stands near the spot. Inscribed on its right foreleg is an inscription which has been variously read, but most recently is agreed to be <small>TINSCVIL</small>, showing that the bronze was a [[Votive deposit|votive object]] dedicated to the supreme Etruscan god of day, [[Tinia|Tin or Tinia]]. The original statue is estimated to have been created around 400 BC. ==See also== *[[Capitoline Wolf]], an Etruscan bronze of the 4th century ==References== *[http://www.unifi.it/unifi/surfchem/solid/bardi/chimera/chimarezzo.html Ugo Bardi, 1997. "The Chimaera of Arezzo"] [[Category:Etruscan sculptures]] [[Category:Etruscan mythology]] [[Category:Treasure troves of Italy]] [[ast:Quimera d'Arezzo]] [[ca:Quimera d'Arezzo]] [[da:Kimæren fra Arezzo]] [[de:Chimäre von Arezzo]] [[es:Quimera de Arezzo]] [[fr:Chimère d'Arezzo]] [[it:Chimera di Arezzo]] [[he:הכימרה מארצו]] [[la:Chimaera Aretina]] [[nl:Chimaera van Arezzo]] [[ja:アレッツォのキメラ]] [[nap:Chimera 'e Arezzo]] [[pl:Chimera z Arezzo]] [[ru:Химера из Ареццо]] [[fi:Arezzon Khimaira]] [[sv:Chimeran från Arezzo]] [[tr:Arezzo Kimerası]] [[zh:阿雷佐的喀迈拉]]