Always Symbolic?: A Reevaluation of Tarquinian False Doors in Context (15 min)

Presenters

Cinzia S. Presti, University of Cincinnati

Abstract

Paintings of false dorica type doors in Tarquinian tombs, which appear between the mid-sixth to mid-fifth centuries, have typically been seen as symbolic doors to the afterlife. This study reevaluates this assumption by examining trends in over 50 Tarquinian tombs' architectural layout and decoration over time. The dorica door motif, when analyzed in conjunction with other painted features within the tomb, more often functions as a trompe l’oeil device to visually expand the tomb rather than a symbolic passage to the afterlife.

The data show that the introduction of painted doors in single-chamber tombs coincided with the emergence of double and multichambered tombs, indicating that these painted doors simulated additional chambers. Painted doorways also followed the same decorative conventions as contemporaneous physical entryways, creating overall cohesion among the architectural elements within each tomb. The occurrence of multiple “afterlife doors” in one chamber (e.g., Tomba della Iscrizione) more likely suggests a desire to visually expand the space of the tomb to resemble a cruciform plan rather than to convey a symbolic interpretation.

Painted doorways reemerged in the second half of the fourth century in the form of arched gates, with no more than one painted gate per tomb, and were typically surrounded by images of underworld demons leading individuals to the gate. It has already been established that the dorica style doors and the arched gates convey different meanings, but with the assumption that both styles represent aspects of the afterlife journey. Instead, the two types should be interpreted as two differing phenomena within very dissimilar periods: dorica doors reflect architectural trends within a period of rapid development, and arched gates arose at a time when Etruscan perceptions of the afterlife were being concretely expressed.