- chapter 59: Science as art –
placed by the Etruscans on divination by entrails. Other interpretive models see the
dedicating worshippers in the role of haruspex and their placing of terracotta viscera on
the altar as a symbolic self-sacrifi ce.^40
MODELSThe anatomical votives are usually greatly simplifi ed and are reproduced without specifi c
details. This applies equally for the votives that show externally visible body parts as
well as those portraying internal organs. Here there is a tendency to create symmetry,
both in the form of the polyvisceral plaques which, like those images of bodies with
openings, are usually teardrop-shaped (see Fig. 59.5), and also in the arrangement of the
individual organs placed inside them (Fig. 59.13). This can also be seen in the design of
isolated organs, such as the heart. Especially lifelike representations are known for feet
(Fig. 59.14), on which veins are depicted,^41 although this should not be taken as evidence
for the socially inferior status of the worshippers, but rather as a feature of the special
care taken in the design, and as evidence for a positive connotation of veristic art which
stands out from the mass of works that are not especially sophisticated artistic products.
Nevertheless, the obvious question is posed, regarding the artisans who designed the
appropriate models, particularly the representations of internal organs: where did they
acquire their knowledge? It has rightly been noted that a medically accurate description
of anatomy could hardly have been the main interest of the buyer/dedicant.^42 However,
since the order of the internal organs corresponds to reality (see Fig. 59.13), it has been
proposed that such knowledge had been gained from the examination of the human body,
for instance on the battlefi eld, or it could indicate a comprehensive medical knowledge
obtained through surgery or dissection.^43 Other researchers suggest that the basically
identical arrangement of animal viscera, for instance in pigs, served as a model for the
artisans. The knowledge would have been acquired mainly through blood sacrifi ces in the
context of religious cult.
Figure 59.13 Votive torso with internal organs. Rome, Therme Museum Inv. 14608. Photo DAI Rom,
Sansaini, Neg. D-DAI-Rom 54. 105.