Etruscan Chariot: Detail

 It was found in 1902 in Monteleone di Spoleto near Spoleto in the province of Perugia of Umbria, by a farmer named Isidoro Vannozzi who inadvertently unearthed it while digging a wine cellar. 

Because the museum's acquisition of the chariot in 1903 predates by six years Italy's first laws restricting export of items that carry "cultural and artistic values," the chariot's sale was legal at the time of purchase, though debated by the contemporary press. 

The principle subjects on the three parts of the chariot box refer to the life of a hero, most likely Achilles. In the center, Achilles receives armor from Thetis, his mother.

 

On one side, he engages in combat with another hero, possibly Memnon; on the other side, he appears in a chariot drawn by winged horses. While the style and subject of the reliefs look to Greek art and myth, the treatment of the scenes is thoroughly Etruscan.

 

Etruscan; From Monteleone, Italy Bronze H. 51 1/2 in. (130.8 cm) Rogers Fund, 1903

Etruscan Chariot, Late 6th Century B.C.

The Monteleone chariot is an Etruscan chariot dated to c. 530 BC. It was originally uncovered at Monteleone di Spoleto and is currently part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Though about 300 ancient chariots are known to still exist, only six are reasonably complete, and the Monteleone chariot is the best-preserved and most complete of all known surviving examples. 

Carlos Picón, curator of the museum's Greek and Roman department, has called it "the grandest piece of sixth-century Etruscan bronze anywhere in the world.

Although chariots are frequently represented in all forms of ancient art, they were no longer used in warfare by the sixth century B.C.; rather, the scenes in which they appear refer to an earlier, mythological period. This chariot was found in a tomb in Monteleone, Italy, and probably saw little actual use before it was buried with its owner.

Although chariots are frequently represented in all forms of ancient art, they were no longer used in warfare by the sixth century B.C.; rather, the scenes in which they appear refer to an earlier, mythological period. This chariot was found in a tomb in Monteleone, Italy, and probably saw little actual use before it was buried with its owner. 
 

Etruscan bronze chariot inlaid with ivory, 2nd quarter of 6th century BCE. Found near Monteleone di Spoleto in 1902; with scenes of Achilles (6) Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York.

It is exceptional for its state of preservation and exquisite hammered relief decoration. The pole of the chariot issues from the head of a boar and ends in the head of a beaked bird.

Monteleone chariot unearthed in Perugia, dated 530 BC.

Close up on the wheel of the chariot.

Etruscan; From Monteleone, Italy
Bronze
H. 51 1/2 in. (130.8 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1903 (03.23.1)