Jewels and Precious Objects
Long hidden in burial sites at Tharros, many ornaments and ceremonial artifacts ended up far from Sardinia.
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Slide 1: Gems from Tharros now at the British Museum.
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Slide 2: Earrings from Tharros now at the British Museum.
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Slide 3: Bracelets from Tharros now at the British Museum.
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Slide 4: An amulet case and amulet from Tharros now at the British Museum.
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Slide 5: Items from Tharros now at the Louvre.
The Destiny of “Our Tharros Treasure”
Tharros was the target of often rough pillagers for centuries before professional archaeologists began to study the area. The first excavations of the burial sites began in the 1800s; many artifacts were taken away to private and public collections. The growing discipline of archaeology did not yet have firm safeguards for cultural heritage, so many pieces were lost or damaged during relocation.
Lord Vernon
Lord Vernon, an Englishman, excavated at Tharros in 1851 and carried off to England an array of invaluable archaeological objects, many of which had remained intact in chamber tombs. He was followed by others who worked at the site for months on end, looting more than one hundred tombs in search of jewelry, ornaments, and other precious objects. The damage to Tharros’s heritage is incalculable.
Gaetano Cara
Gaetano Cara, director of the Royal Museum of Cagliari, was in charge of the official excavations in the funerary area from 1853 to 1856. He illegitimately sold thousands of precious items to the British Museum, to Christie’s auction house, and to other institutions and individuals (and attempted to sell to the Louvre as well). He was assisted by Rubicondo Barbetti, a former military officer who served at the time as head of the salt works of Sardinia. This sales catalogue names Barbetti as the owner of the antiquities (along with a banker, Raffaele Olivetti), but the name of Gaetano Cara does not appear. Cara did, however, write openly about the sales in his memoir:
"At Christie’s auction house ... we were led into a delightful little sitting room, where we were joined by the Director of the House. The agreement was soon reached and two thousand items from our Tharros treasure were auctioned at Christie's."
Photo credits: Louvre necklace and ring: © Musée du Louvre / Raphaël Chipault. • Sales catalogue: © Archive of the Antiquarium Arborense – Oristano. • All other images: © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Cara quote: Excerpt from a manuscript attributed to Gaetano Cara and his son, Alberto, published as Vita d’un direttore di museo scritta da lui medesimo (ed. Raimondo Zucca; Sesto Fiorentino: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2018).