liver model of Piacenza
E816006
The liver model of Piacenza is a bronze Etruscan artifact shaped like a sheep’s liver and inscribed with the names of deities, believed to have been used by priests for divination and teaching hepatoscopy.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Etruscan artifact
ⓘ
bronze model ⓘ divination instrument ⓘ hepatoscopy teaching tool ⓘ |
| approximateDate |
around 100 BCE
ⓘ
late 2nd century BCE ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Etruscan priests
ⓘ
Etruscan religion NERFINISHED ⓘ haruspicy ⓘ |
| category |
archaeological artifact
ⓘ
bronze sculpture ⓘ religious object ⓘ |
| cityOfCurrentLocation | Piacenza NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country | Italy ⓘ |
| culture | Etruscan civilization NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| currentLocation | Piacenza Civic Museum NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| depicts | schematic liver surface ⓘ |
| discovered | 19th century ⓘ |
| fieldOfStudy |
Etruscology
ⓘ
ancient divination ⓘ epigraphy ⓘ history of religion ⓘ |
| foundIn | near Piacenza, Italy ⓘ |
| function | guide for interpreting omens from animal livers ⓘ |
| hasPart |
inscribed compartments
ⓘ
sections corresponding to liver regions ⓘ |
| hasResearchTopic |
correspondence between liver sectors and deities
ⓘ
relationship between Etruscan and Mesopotamian divination traditions ⓘ |
| inscribedWith | names of deities ⓘ |
| inscriptionLanguage | Etruscan language NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedInTheAdministrativeTerritorialEntity | Emilia-Romagna NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material | bronze ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Piacenza NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
one of the best preserved Etruscan divination models
ⓘ
systematic mapping of divine names onto liver zones ⓘ |
| period | Hellenistic period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| region | northern Italy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedArtifact | Babylonian liver models ⓘ |
| relatedPractice | Roman haruspicy ⓘ |
| religiousRole |
ritual consultation of gods
ⓘ
training in sacred divinatory practice ⓘ |
| shape | sheep’s liver ⓘ |
| significance |
important evidence for Etruscan pantheon
ⓘ
key source for understanding Etruscan divination ⓘ |
| use |
divination
ⓘ
hepatoscopy ⓘ priestly instruction ⓘ |
| writingSystem | Etruscan script NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.