Antiquarian studies and history of collecting at Serra Orlando–Morgantina in the time of Paolo Orsi. New data towards our knowledge of Sicilian terracottas

Abstract

The paper aims to present a rich series of mostly unpublished coroplastic finds from Contrada Serra Orlando of Aidone (EN), inland Sicily, now known as the site of the ancient city of Morgantina. The finds, currently in the collection of the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi in Siracusa, were partly donated to Paolo Orsi himself by the family Montemagno, owners of lands in the archaeological area, and in part were acquired by the archaeologist at the time of his frequentation of the area and the Montemagno family, around 1911- 1912. It is an interesting complex of clay artifacts that prove the spread of the cult for chthonic deities and at the same time the richness and variety of the coroplastic production of Morgantina, already known to the scientific community thanks to the fundamental monograph by Malcolm Bell III, The Terracottas (1981), and more recent studies edited by the writer. The presentation of the terracottas in the Montemagno collection will provide an opportunity to focus attention on antiquarianism in late 19th-early 20th-century Sicily and on the dispersion of finds that Paolo Orsi, as Superintendent, tried at all costs to stem by investing even personal resources.

The papers published in this volume were presented at the International Conference “What can Terracottas tell us: Coroplastic Polysemy in the Ancient Mediterranean” (Cagliari - Cittadella dei Musei, 10–12th November 2022) organized under the scientific direction of Romina Carboni, Claudia Cenci and Nicola Chiarenza.