Etruscan votive terracotta figurine of the Etruscan deities Apollo and Artumes. Caere, Etruria, circa 300 BCE. 8-2579

This 4th century BCE terracotta figurine depicts Apollo and Artumes, the Etruscan deities of poetry/art and hunting, respectively. The two gods are shown standing and holding a lyre between them. This object, alongside 800 other Etruscan artifacts housed at the Hearst Museum, was acquired by Alfred Emerson from a votive deposit at the Vignaccia Temple site in Caere at the turn of the 20th century. Because Emerson’s acquisition style reflects his interest in context, we can begin to reconstruct this site from the many votives which have survived at the Vignaccia. This votive figurine, along with hundreds of others found at this site, requires that we do more to shed light on context and collecting. It is important to reflect on collection methods, especially when we attempt to recreate the life of an ancient object.

-Anuroop

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Incense burner and base. Etruria, Central Italy. Second half of the 4th century BC. 8-3406

This bronze incense burner with clawed feet is adorned with a floral pattern that continues up to a small basin.  Two nude figures, the Etruscan goddess Turan (an equivalent to Aphrodite) and her young lover Atunis stand side by side. At the top of the burner are an assortment of birds; some sitting and others dangling from small chains. This incense burner is a fantastic representation of the Etruscan mastery of metallurgy and a prime example of why their expert craftsmanship was highly valued in the Mediterranean. The intricate detailing both in its structure and adornments make this work dynamic. The bird detailing at the top is especially striking, as the artist insisted upon showing the birds in flight.

-Jacquie

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Etruscan Bronze cheese grater, from a tomb at Poggio Buco, Tuscany. 8-1636

Etruscan bronze cheese graters were elite, upper-class items, often discovered alongside expensive wine drinking vessels and almost exclusively found in male tombs. Elite warriors (who were often some of the most powerful members of society) used a combination of wine and cheese as a ceremonial drink. Though the Etruscans are often portrayed in historical texts as mysterious due to their non-Indo European language and unique funerary culture, this recognizable cheese grater reminds us that these tropes can be misleading. Etruscans, like other cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, had a complex culture with unique cultural practices. This cheese grater is a perfect example –  and was probably used during a warrior’s libation ceremony.

-Jun

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Bird figurine found at the Vignaccia Temple, Caere (Modern-day Cerveteri), Central Italy from the Middle Etruscan Period (480–325 BC). 8-2386

This bird figurine was part of a deposit discovered next to the Vignaccia temple, along with some 800 additional terracotta votives including other animals as well as heads and figurines. Because many of the heads and figurines are female, it is believed that the Vignaccia temple was most likely dedicated to a female deity, and, as the immense collection demonstrates, was a popular site of Etruscan worship. The bird votive may be connected to female worship  as eggs were an important symbol of fertility, rebirth and possibly immortality. Terracotta was widely used in Etruria, and depictions of birds were frequent. They are included in the Tomb of the Hunting and Fishing as a multicolor flock flying above fishermen and in the Tomba Degli Auguri where two Augurs read them as part of Etruscan religious divination practice. Many facets of Roman religion, in fact, were based on Etruscan religious practice.

-Ruby

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Figurine found at the Vignaccia Temple, Caere (Modern-day Cerveteri), Central Italy from the Middle Etruscan Period (480–325 BC). 8-2591

This statuette portrays a shift in the depiction of power and authority in Etruscan culture, moving from common depictions of reclining banquets to an enthroned couple. The statuette, dated 400-350 BCE and collected from the Vignaccia Temple, a female votive sanctuary at ancient Caere, is a terracotta press-mold of a couple. They are seated on a wing-backed double throne and partially embrace while facing forward. In this sense the statuette preserves the egalitarian position of man and woman in aristocratic Etruscan society seen throughout banqueting scenes. Yet the throne shifts the two figures into a position of authority and activity, perhaps indicating divine personages.

-Jake

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Limestone votive figurine of a veiled girl playing a lyre. Cyprus, circa 600-475 BCE. 8-324.

Limestone figurines, such as this one of a veiled girl playing a lyre, are found in Greek sanctuaries and tombs. This one comes from Cyprus. Sculptures of lyre players aimed to please the divinities with the sweet sound of music. Depictions of the lyre appear in the sung poetry of Sappho, who lived in the same period on another Mediterranean island. The poet saw her instrument as “holy,” “divine,” and “sweet-toned.” She used it to sing of lovely young women, whose presence she summoned with her sweet-toned lyre. 

-Nicole Manssourian

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The Polynesian archipelago of Hawaii is renowned for its finely carved wooden bowls, platters, and trays.  While most were used for eating, some larger examples served as storage.

Carvers preferred the wood of the koa (or kou) tree because its grain was relatively soft and easy to cut.  Food bowls were carefully carved from hardwoods with stone and later metal tools; some were also hollowed out with fire.  Next, the bitterness in the wood was removed by soaking in sea water; the wood was further sweetened by an application of fermented taro or sweet potato.  Finally, the bowl was polished with pumice or shark skin, and rubbed to a high gloss with nut oil.  This coating helped waterproof the wood, extending its life.

Most of the round wooden bowls were used for serving poi, the traditional Hawaiian staple food.  Poi is made from taro root that has been steamed or boiled.  Pounded to a paste, it is served in a fairly liquid state, often slightly fermented.

Most people ate their poi from gourd bowls and cups, and it is clear that wooden poi bowls–more often used by chiefs–were modeled on these gourd containers.  Poi bowls were stabilized by a thicker bottom, and some had gourd covers.  Larger examples, used for feasts, were transported with fiber nets.  To repair a damaged bowl was a mark of respect.  Cracks were sewn with fine cordage and holes were filled with custom-made wooden pegs.  Any imperfections were filled with a breadfruit-gum compound and smoothed away with pumice.

In addition to serving poi, wooden bowls were used for storing poi, salting and serving meat (pork, dog, and large fish), and storing tapa cloth and feathers.  Other forms included elongated trays and platters, dishes, plates, cups, finger bowls, and bowls for food scraps.  In addition to these plain food and storage bowls, Hawaiians made more elaborate figurative bowls for chiefs and royalty.

The Museum has almost thirty wooden poi bowls and related platters.  About half of them were collected by Jackson R. Myers, who acquired them, along with other items, in Hawaii between 1900 and 1905.  Little is known about him, but he seems to have worked as a manager on a sugar plantation in Kilauea, Kauai.

In 1908 Phoebe Hearst donated the poi bowl illustrated here; seven Hawaiian bowls were included in two South Seas accessions.  These items strengthened the museum’s regional holdings from Oceania, dating back to the earliest University collections in 1873. For a museum located in a coastal community with strong ties to Hawaii, Mrs. Hearst thought it important to represent Pacific cultures with these fine examples of the woodworker’s art.