Etruscan Ivory Lion Plaque

This early 6th c. BC ivory plaque, shaped like a reclining lion, was a votive gift from an Etruscan aristocrat in Rome during Tarquinius Priscus’s reign (616–578 BC). It features the earliest Etruscan inscription in Rome: araz silqetenas spurianas. Likely part of a tessera hospitalis , a hospitality token, the name silqetenas may link to Sulcis in Sardinia, indicating Etruscan-Phoenician ties, while spurianas suggests a connection to a Tarquinian family.