Chimera of Arezzo
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2008-05-11T23:30:42Z
Thijs!bot
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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]]