Another touching masterpiece of Etruscan art that you can't miss is the Sarcophagus of the Spouses that was found in the Banditaccia necropolis near Cerveteri, in the province of Rome. It's dated back to around 520 BC, and this terracotta urn contained the ashes of the deceased. You can see the couch that was used for dining on the large box, and the deceased pair lying down on the lid, who look as if they're attending a banquet in the afterlife.
The sculptor wanted to give much more importance to the upper part of their bodies, especially their faces. The features of the two figures are in line with the Etruscan sculptural style, with highly elegant straight and direct lines. Also note the particular way the heads have been worked, with elongated skulls, protruding noses and chins, and the dry cut of their eyes and profile. Their gestures are also expressively and dynamically carved into the terracotta: the man, who was probably holding a cup that has been lost, affectionately rests his arm on his wife's shoulders.
