What Etruscan statue is displayed in Rome and considered to be one of their most important symbols?

Answer 1

It was argued that the Capitoline wolf (kept at the Capitoline museum) was a 5th century Etruscan sculpture with the twins (Romulus and Remus) added by renaissance artist Antionio Pollaiolo in the 15th century. In 2006 this was questioned by the Italian art historian who oversaw the restoration of the statue. She thought that the smelting technique is from the early middle ages. A professor in Etruscan studies at the university of Rome supported this view. Scientific tests have given it an even later date: the 13th century.

It is interesting to note that the previous view of the origin of this statue reflected the almost dominant view gained by some historians that in that period Rome was ruled by Etruscan kings and that anything cultural from that period had to be Etruscan because the Etruscans were far superior to the Romans who were almost primitive, and thus pretty much incapable of producing anything. This is a theory that has now been seriously challenged. It was only when the statue was actually examined that it was it was seen that it was not Etruscan.