Milan, Cortona's precious Etruscan Chandelier on display at the Rovati Foundation

The extremely precious Etruscan Chandelier of Cortona, a rare decorated bronze object that served to illuminate a place of worship, for the first time since 1938 leaves the halls of the MAEC - Museum of the Etruscan Academy of Cortona, where it has been kept since 1842, to be exhibited at the Luigi Rovati Foundation in Milan, from December 14, 2022 to March 5, 2023. In fact, its temporary presence at the Rovati Foundation aims to strengthen the collaboration between two institutions.

Found by chance in 1840 in the Cortona countryside, the chandelier was purchased by the Academy to include it in the civic Etruscan collection. The lower face is decorated with figurative scenes and phytomorphic motifs, and in the center stands a gorgoneion with a face framed by bipartite curls on the forehead and a large mouth with a hanging tongue; all around the gorgoneion are small, handcrafted tangled snakes. On the edges are alternating reliefs of small Acheloo faces and 16 spouts in which the burning of lamp oil took place thanks to special wicks. Accompanying the chandelier is a plaque with an inscription, added at a later period but found with the artifact, which informs about the consecration or rededication of the chandelier, attesting to the practice of reuse in past civilizations.

The agreement between MAEC and the Rovati Foundation dates back to 2020: the two institutions share the institutional intentions of enhancing cultural, artistic and historical heritage, promoting scientific research and critical debate on studies dedicated to Etruscan civilization, and aim to make concrete, through shared and popular events, the topics of common interest. It was precisely the chandelier that was the focus of the first exhibition resulting from the collaboration between the two institutes: Lights from Darkness, from the Lights of the Etruscans to the Gleams of Pompeii, an exhibition on lighting in the Etruscan world held in the summer of 2021 at MAEC in Cortona.

The exhibition is also meant to be an incentive for studies on Etruscan civilization. Entitled The Chandelier of Cortona. From collecting origins to contemporary collections, it is curated by Paolo Bruschetti and Giulio Paolucci, who were also responsible for the catalog published by Fondazione Rovati and on sale at the museum shop (13 euros). All information can be found on the Rovati Foundation website.

Milan, Cortona's precious Etruscan Chandelier on display at the Rovati Foundation

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