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Etruscan

Hand Holding a Dove, 3rd century BCE

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Etruscan

Title

Hand Holding a Dove

Year

3rd century BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • terracotta

Dimensions

6.4 x 8.9 x 6.4 cm (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches)

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

Gift of Dr. Armand Versaci

Object Number

1986.165

Projects & Publications

Publications

Manual / Issue 1

Hand in Hand
Read Online

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

Many ancient societies, including the Etruscans, attempted to divine the future from earthly omens. Etruscan religion was based on three books of prescribed religious practices, each concerning predictions. It is believed that these books inspired the famous Roman Sibylline Books. Etruscan diviners came in two kinds: augurs, who interpreted the movements of birds, and haruspices, who interpreted the entrails of sacrificed animals. This object relates to the practice of augury, evoking the hand of an augur holding a dove at the moment before its release into the sky. The temporal nature of this piece is twofold. It concerns divination, a system of ascertaining what will occur in the future, and it represents a pivotal moment in the process itself, the instant right before the answers will become known.

Weiss Ancient Art Gallery

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Hand Holding a Dove with the accession number of 1986.165. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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