The Etruscan Kiss and Embrace: A Mirror at the British Museum and a Lifetime in a Gesture-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The Etruscan Kiss and Embrace: A Mirror at the British Museum and a Lifetime in a Gesture

Published:2024-07-11 Issue: Volume: Page:
ISSN:2566-9095
Container-title:Etruscan and Italic Studies
language:en
Short-container-title:

Author:

Guerini Giulietta¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Classe di Lettere e Filosofia , 19004 Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7, 56126 , Pisa , Tuscany , Italy

Abstract

Abstract The British Museum currently houses an Etruscan mirror portraying a depiction of two women engaged in an embrace and sharing a kiss. Despite previous endeavors to elucidate the symbolic gesture, the profound implications behind the embrace remain shrouded in ambiguity. This article argues that the mirror, while adorned with a veneer of mythology, conceals a narrative that holds pivotal significance in a woman’s life, specifically, the moment of a bride bidding farewell to her mother. Under this interpretive framework, the gesture takes on the role of a salutation, a conjecture fortified by parallels drawn from analogous scenes in different artistic mediums.

Funder

Open access funding provided by Scuola Normale Superiore within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Link

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/etst-2024-0004/pdf

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