what aspects of etruscan art and architecture is unique to them?

The Etruscan Culture

Etruscan social club developed in fundamental Italia. The Orientalizing period continued Etruscan arts with eastern Mediterranean civilisation.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the Orientalizing period of Etruscan civilisation and their use of aureate and ivory

Key Takeaways

Fundamental Points

• Etruscan civilization flourished in central Italy and expanded as far north as the Po River and as far south every bit the Tiber River and northern Campania.
• Despite having a distinct artistic manner , due to Greek influence, Etruscan art follows the artistic and stylistic developments of the Greeks, and is divided into similar artistic periods, including the Orientalizing (700–600 BCE), Archaic (600–480 BCE), and Classical (480–200 BCE) periods.
• Etruscan art during the Orientalizing menstruation demonstrates oriental influences, similar to those seen in Greek art, including the employ of intricate designs, patterning, and the delineation of animals—including lions, leopards, and composite animals like sphinxes and griffins.
• The Etruscans are known for their metalwork , and especially for their skill in crafting golden. Gold jewelry was popular among the Etruscans and often cached with its owners. The fibulas, earrings, bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry and ornament demonstrate Etruscan skill with repoussé and granulation .

Fundamental Terms

• pyxis: A shape of vessel from the classical world, usually a cylindrical box with a separate lid.
• granulation: The attachment of granules of precious metallic to the underlying metallic of jewelry.
• repoussé: A metalworking technique in which a thin sheet of malleable metallic is shaped by hammering from the contrary side to create a design in low relief.

Etruscan Civilization

The Etruscan civilization thrived in primal Italy during the first millennium BCE. Occupying the guess area of present-day Tuscany, the region derives its name from the give-and-take Etruscan.

During the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, the Etruscans became body of water traders and actively participated in Mediterranean trade. The civilisation also began to expand, and the Etruscans eventually settled as far northward as the Po River and equally far s equally the Tiber River and the northern parts of Campania.

Aside from trade, a large part of Etruscan wealth came from the rich natural resource of the territories they lived in. The soil was fertile for agriculture and the land was rich with minerals and metals, which were mined. Etruscan cities and regions appear to have been ruled over by a king, and Etruscan kings are accounted for as the early on rulers of Rome . While the Romans proudly remember overthrowing their Etruscan rulers, many aspects of Etruscan society were adopted by the Romans.

Map of the Etruscan civilisation, 750–500 BCE: The Etruscans eventually settled equally far northward as the Po River and as far south as the Tiber River and the northern parts of Campania.

Very little is known virtually the Etruscans through written records. The Etruscans did not leave whatever written historical accounts, and what is known today about their culture and history is from written records by the Greeks and Romans that take survived.

These records, while providing information, view Etruscan civilization from an outside, strange eye so can be deceptive in their accounts of Etruscan society. Considering of this, most of what is known about the Etruscans comes from archaeological records.

Since many Etruscan cities take been continually occupied since their foundation—kickoff by the Etruscans, then the Romans, up to today—a bulk of Etruscan archaeological sites are tombs and necropoleis. Archaeologists and historians rely on Etruscan funerary culture to derive ideas about the society'south culture, community, and history.

Orientalizing Art

Despite the distinctive character of Etruscan fine art, the history and stylistic divisions  generally follows the divisions seen within Greek art history and stylistic developments. The Etruscans established contact with Eastern cultures, including Greeks, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, around 700 BCE, and this marks the beginning of the Orientalizing period of their culture.

As is similar with the Greek Orientalizing period, the art of this period in Etruria reflects Eastern themes and motifs . The patterning and depictions of animals were common— specially lions, leopards, and mythological composite creatures such as sphinxes and griffins .

Aureate and Ivory

The Etruscans were master metallic smiths and mined diverse ores including iron, tin can, copper, silver, and gold; they even smelted bronze to work with. Artists who worked with metallic were extremely talented and developed unique skills and specialized techniques, including granulation and repoussé.

Gilt ornaments and jewelry describe both of these techniques, demonstrating the Etruscans' precision when working with gilt to create intricate designs and patterns in incredibly fine detail. The gold jewelry that came from a wealthy Etruscan family'due south tomb (the Regolini-Galassi tomb), including an enormous gold fibula and golden bracelets that date from 650–600 BCE, displays these techniques.

The elaborate and intricate metal work was not isolated to the Orientalizing menstruation but continued to be created by the Etruscans through the next several centuries. A gold reel, possibly an earring stud, from the early fourth century BCE represents the combination of both the hammered relief of repoussé besides as the careful and precise fusing of tiny gold granules.

The work too shows lingering, oriental-inspired designs that describe repetitive images of Pegasus and the chimera. Another earring from the Archaic period combines repoussé and granulation with glass beads and intricate, patterned designs.

Gilded Earring Stud: This earring from the Archaic period combines repoussé and granulation with glass beads and intricate, patterned designs,  c. 530–480 BCE.

Gilded Stud with Pegasus and Chimera: Earring stud with Pegasus and Chimera. Golden. c. 4th century BCE.

Other objects besides the gold jewelry found in the Regolini-Galassi tomb demonstrate the Orientalizing influences on Etruscan art. An ivory pyxis , which appears to imitate a Phoenican style, has a clearly Etruscan origin.

The ivory was imported into the region, likely from an Eastern source. The reliefs are carved in an Etruscan style, with egg-shaped human heads and distinctly thin, straight noses and oval eyes. The sphinxes on the lid and on the lesser annals , too every bit the frieze of animals at the op, reflect the Eastern theme. The middle register depicts a procession of horses and chariots.

Pyxis with a sphinx-shaped handle lid: Note the sphinx-shaped handle lid. This piece is fabricated of ivory, c. 650–625 BCE. It is from the Regolini-Galassi tomb, Cerveteri, Italy.

Etruscan Ceramics

The Etruscans are known for their impasto and bucchero pottery, equally well equally local versions of black- and cherry-red-figure vase painting.

Learning Objectives

Evaluate the ceramic works of the Etruscan civilization

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• The Etruscans are known for their impasto and bucchero pottery. Their contact with Greek settlements too influenced their production of blackness- and crimson-figure vase painting.
• Impasto is a fibroid, unrefined dirt used in the production of funerary vases and storage vessels . Its popularity spread beyond the Etruscan civilisation , condign a major exported good to Greek colonies in southern Italy.
• Bucchero is a fine, often thin, black pottery that is fired and burnished to create a rich, lustrous polish. It was adult to imitate metal and became a luxury good in its own right.
• Etruscan black-figure painting initially imitated the Corinthian and Attic styles before adopting a manneristic silhouette technique towards the finish of its beingness.
• Etruscan scarlet-figure painting began as pseudo-cherry-figure, involving lighter figures painted on a black slip . Field of study matter grew increasingly minimalistic during the second half of the 4th century BCE.

Primal Terms

• hydria: A iii-handled ceramic vessel used for carrying water.
• symposium: In ancient Graeco-Roman culture, a drinking political party.
• bucchero: A blazon of dark gray Etruscan terracotta pottery.

The Etruscans were well known for their pottery, which was typically made from ii materials: impasto and bucchero.

Impasto

Impasto is a fibroid grade of pottery made from a dirt that contains chips of mica, a silicate, or stone. In its soft form, impasto clay tin range from red to dark-brown. Afterwards it is fired, its surface becomes black and glossy.

It was first used past the Villanovan culture, which preceded the Etruscans, effectually the tenth century BCE. Betwixt the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, the Greek colonies to the south of Etruria began importing impasto vessels, a testament to their intercultural popularity.

The Etruscans used impasto for basic, utilitarian pottery, such as storage jars and cooking pots, too as for funerary urns during the Orientalizing period. Artists incised the vessels with geometric designs, likewise as stylized images of humans and animals.

The amphora in the paradigm beneath depicts a spiral and a stylized bird, among other designs. Screw motifs announced frequently in the art of numerous European cultures outset in the Neolithic era. While their meanings are still a matter of debate, scholars hypothesize that spirals could symbolize astronomical phenomena or specific religious references.

The bird, on the other manus, could be a reference to dear or fertility. Turan (the Etruscan goddess of beloved, fertility, and vitality) was commonly associated with a variety of avian species. Similarly the lynx, a bird-similar beast in Etruscan mythology, also symbolizes love.

Etruscan impasto amphora: Screw motifs appear frequently in the fine art of numerous European cultures beginning in the Neolithic era. This amphora is c. 700–680 BCE.

Bucchero

Bucchero pottery, developed around 675 BCE, was an Etruscan invention. It was created from a fine dirt fired to produce a glossy black surface and burnished to polish. A finished bucchero surface imitated the appearance of metal.

The Etruscans produced a variety of objects—such every bit plates, chalices, vases, and pitchers—from bucchero, demonstrating the versatility of the cloth. While less expensive than metal, it was even so considered a luxury detail and was exported around the Mediterranean. Bucchero goods take been found as far eastward every bit Egypt and Syrian arab republic.

During the Orientalizing menstruum, objects could be as niggling every bit less than ii millimeters. This is type of bucchero ware is known today as bucchero sottile, or delicate bucchero, and the thin delicate walls further reinforced the material's imitation of metal.

Ornamentation on bucchero was often limited to abstract designs and did not usually include figures. Bucchero was frequently simply decorated with incised lines that formed geometric and abstruse patterns. Some patterns were incised with a stylus and others with a toothed bike or rummage-like instruments to create consistent rows of dots or patterns of dots in the shape of fans.

While bucchero thrived during the Orientalizing and Archaic periods, its product began to pass up during the Classical period as painted Greek pottery became more bachelor and popular in Etruscan civilization, and as goods for funerary deposits.

Bucchero Etruscan plate: Decoration on bucchero was oft limited to abstract designs and did not usually include figures. This plate is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Vase Painting

Vase painting in the Etruscan culture thrived from the seventh to the fourth century BCE. Information technology was strongly influenced by Greek vase painting and followed the main trends in manner over the period. As well being producers in their own right, the Etruscans were the master export market place for Greek pottery outside Greece. Among the Etruscans, richly decorated vases were ofttimes interred with the dead.

Black-Figure Painting

Initially, Etruscan vases followed the examples of blackness-figure vase painting from Corinth and Eastward Greece. Information technology is assumed that in the earliest phase, vases were produced mainly by immigrants from Greece.

They mainly produced amphorae, hydriai and jugs. Depictions included revelers, symposia , and animal friezes . Mythological motifs occur more rarely, but are already created with great care.

By this time, Etruscan vase painting began to accept its main influence from Attic vase painting. The black-figure fashion ended about 480 BCE. In its concluding phase, it developed a tendency toward a manneristic style of silhouette drawing.

Etruscan hydria with black-effigy painting: The black-effigy way concluded about 480 BCE. In its last phase, it adult a tendency toward a manneristic style of silhouette drawing.

Pseudo-Ruby-Effigy Painting

The Etruscans developed an imitative adoption of the red-figure technique (known equally pseudo-ruby-red-figure) effectually 490 BCE, nearly one-half a century after that style had been invented in Greece. Every bit on some early Attic vases, this was achieved by covering the whole vase trunk in black shiny slip, and so calculation figures on meridian, using paints that would oxidize into crimson or white during firing .

In true cerise-figure painting, the red areas were left costless of skid. In pseudo-red-figure painting, internal details were marked by incisions, like to the usual practise in black-effigy vase painting, rather than painted on, as is true in red-figure painting. Even later true carmine-figure painting became the dominant style, some workshops continued to specialize in pseudo-red-figure painting into the 4th century BCE.

Athena and Poseidon: A pseudo-crimson-figure krater past the Nazzano Painters,  c. 360 BCE.

Scarlet-Figure Painting

Simply by the stop of the 5th century BCE was the true cerise-figure technique introduced to Etruria. In the second half of the quaternary century BCE, mythological themes disappeared from the repertoire of the Etruscan vase painters.

Instead, the vase bodies were by and large covered with ornamental and floral motifs, and larger compositions merely occurred in infrequent cases.

Etruscan red-effigy stamnos: In the second half of the fourth century BCE, mythological themes disappeared and the vase bodies were mostly covered with ornamental and floral motifs. This stamnos is c. 360–340 BCE.

Etruscan Sculpture

Archaic Etruscan art ofttimes includes terra cotta statues that are stylistically and aesthetically Etruscan just influenced by Greek art.

Learning Objectives

Describe the stylistic influences on Etruscan sculpture during the Archaic flow

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• During the Archaic period (600–480 BCE), the Etruscans began to build large wood and terracotta temples, create underground burying chambers, and produce large-scale rock and terra cotta sculptures .
• The stylistic influences from the Greeks on Etruscan Archaic sculpture include the Archaic smile and the stylized patterning of hair and clothing. However, Etruscan sculpture was distinct. The figures had egg-shaped heads and almond eyes, were clothed, and their bodies had a higher degree of plasticity.
• The Centaur of Vulci is a subtractive sculpture straddling the Orientalizing and Archaic periods. It uses some Greek attributes but modifies them in a way to make the object uniquely Etruscan.The Apulu of Veii is an example of Etruscan Archaic sculpture. The effigy, believed to accept been made past the Etruscan artist Vulca from Veii, depicts Apulu in mid-stride, with an outstretched arm. The effigy is more dynamic than Greek Primitive examples.
• The Sarcophagus of the Spouses depicts a couple reclining together on a dining couch. The figures are distinctly Etruscan, blithe through their gestures, with faces made from the aforementioned mold and distinguished by feminine or masculine characteristics.

Primal Terms

• Archaic smile: A technique used by Greek Archaic sculptors, especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, peradventure to advise that their discipline was alive and infused with a sense of well-being.
• subtractive: A sculptural process in which the artist begins with more fabric than he or she needs and gradually takes abroad material until the desired grade is achieved.
• terra cotta: Earthenware dirt after it has been fired in a kiln.
• akroteria: Architectural ornaments placed on a flat base and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the classical style.
• additive: A sculptural process in which the artist begins with piffling to no cloth and gradually attaches more material until the desired form is achieved.
• sarcophagus: A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture.

Etruscan Sculpture

During the Archaic period (600–480 BCE), the Etruscan culture flourished. The Etruscans began edifice stone and wood temples and creating subterranean tombs. Etruscan trade flourished, and the civilization expanded to its furthest boundaries.

The period and mode of art is named for its Greek analogue. Although at that place are similarities betwixt Etruscan and Greek Archaic art, significant differences marker specific sculptures as uniquely Etruscan.

The Centaur of Vulci

The surface area of Italy that was dwelling house to the etruscan civilisation is rich in volcanic rocks such as tufa and nenfro. Such materials provide ample media for sculptures that are made through subtractive processes similar carving and chiseling.

The Centaur of Vulci (c. 590–580 BCE), a nenfro statue discovered in a tomb in the necropolis of Poggio Maremma in Vulci Archaeological Park, appears to marking a transition between the Orientalizing and Archaic styles. Similar to Greek centaur sculptures of this period, the body appears to draw a continuing homo with a stylized cylindrical equine body emerging from the back.

Different the Greek Orientalizing and Archaic centaurs, this sculpture was produced without a tail. Its artillery and legs below the knees are missing. Its hands are visible on the hips, suggesting a stiff pose like early Greek kouroi. Its eyes are large and almond-shaped, and information technology might have worn an Archaic smile earlier it was damaged.

The centaur's hair falls in stylized plaits similar its Greek counterparts. The manner of braids, however, appears less like chaplet, as seen in the Greek kouros , and more like twisted plies of a rope. On the dorsum of the centaur'south caput, three braids and several ringlets run in a horizontal blueprint to connect with the braids on the left and right. Show of drill piece of work can be seen in the curls that fall across the centaur's brow.

Centaur of Vulci: A nenfro statue discovered in a tomb in the necropolis of Poggio Maremma in Vulci Archaeological Park.

Terracotta

Few examples of large-scale or monumental Etruscan sculptures survive. Very few Etruscan bronzes escaped existence melted downwardly for reuse, and the Etruscans did not often piece of work in marble or other hard stones. Instead, many surviving examples of Etruscan sculpture are in terra cotta, or earthenware clay that has been fired in a kiln .

Working with terra cotta was a means for additive sculpture. Dissimilar the subtractive sculptural techniques employed in the etching of rock or rock, this allowed for subtle modeling and more than expressive and dynamic features.

A pair of winged horses from the Altar of the Queen, an Etruscan sanctuary located in Tarquinia, are examples of the Etruscans' skill and modeling with terracotta. The horses are muscular, with stiff chests, fine legs, and elongated bodies. They appear to prance as they wait to pull a chariot. Their necks curvation , with manes blowing in the wind, and their heads are drawn in, as if pulled back by a pair of unseen reins.

Winged Horses: Working with terra cotta lets the creative person create subtle modeling and more expressive and dynamic features, as seen in these horses.

Apulu of Veii

The Apulu of Veii is a prime example of Etruscan sculpture during the Archaic menstruation. Apulu, the Etruscan equivalent of Apollo, is a slightly larger than life-size terra cotta akroteria figure in the Portonaccio Temple at Veii, an Etruscan city just north of Rome .

The figure was function of a group of akroteria that stood on the ridgepole of the temple and depicted the myth of Heracles and the Ceryneaian hind . The figure of Apulu confronts the hero, Heracles, who is attempting to capture a deer sacred to Apulu'southward sister, Artumes (Artemis). Apulu is the most intact surviving statue of the akroteria figures from this temple.

The figure of Apulu has several Greek characteristics. The face up is like to the faces of Primitive Greek kouroi figures. The face up is simply carved and an archaic smile provides a notion of emotion and realism . The hair of Apulu is stylized and falls across his shoulders and downwardly his cervix and back in stylized, geometric twists that seem to correspond braids. The figure, like Greek figures, was painted in brilliant colors, and the edge of his toga appears to exist lined in blueish.

Apulu of Veii: This painted terracotta statue is a slightly larger than life-size terra cotta akroteria figure in the Portonaccio Temple at Veii, Italy.

Different Archaic Greek statues and kouroi, the effigy of Apulu is full of movement and presents the viewer with an entirely different aesthetic from the Greek mode. The figure of Apulu is dynamic and flexible. He strides forward with an arm stretched out. He leans on his front foot, and his dorsum foot is slightly raised.

The torso is more faithfully modeled (comparable to after Greek kouroi), and instead of existence nude, he wears a toga that is draped over one shoulder. The garment'southward folds are patterned and stylized merely cling to the body, allowing the viewer to clearly distinguish the god's chest and thigh muscles. While the Etruscan artist applied an Archaic smile to Apulu, the figure's lips are full and his head is more egg-shaped than circular—both characteristics of Etruscan art and sculpture.

The Apulu of Veii is believed to have been made by the Etruscan creative person Vulca of Veii. As well this sculpture, Vulca is credited by Roman historians with the cosmos of the cult statue for the Temple of Jupiter Optiumus Maximus, the virtually important temple in Rome. Vulca created this statue when the terminal Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus ruled Rome.

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses

A late sixth century sarcophagus excavated from a tomb in Cerveteri is a terra cotta sarcophagus that depicts a couple reclining together on a dining couch. The sarcophagus displays not only the Etruscan Archaic mode but besides Etruscan skill in working with terra cotta.

The figures' torsos are modeled, and their heads are in a typical Etruscan egg-shape with almond shaped eyes, long noses, and full lips. Their hair is stylized, and their gestures are animated. The use of gesture is seen throughout Etruscan fine art, both in sculpture and painting. The woman might have originally held a pocket-sized vessel , and the couple appears to be intimate and loving due to the fact that man has his arm around the woman.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses:  The sarcophagus displays non merely the Etruscan Archaic style but also Etruscan skill in working with painted terracotta. C. 520 BCE. Institute in the Banditaccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy.

A close expect at the figures reveals some peculiarities. Commencement, their faces are the same and in fact were most likely created from the same mold, a technique common in Etruscan terra cotta sculpture. The identical faces are differentiated by the addition of female and male hairstyles, including the human being's beard. Furthermore, despite the modeling of their upper bodies, the legs of the figures are apartment and rather lifeless, an odd comparing to the liveliness of the figures' upper halves.

Etruscan Temples

Etruscan temples derive from Greek models but are distinguished by a high podium, deep porch, prostyle columns, and frontality.

Learning Objectives

Compare and dissimilarity Etruscan temples with their Greek counterparts

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The superstructures of Etruscan temples were built from wood and mud brick that was often covered in stucco , plaster, or painted for decoration. The temple had a stone or tufa foundation, and the roof was covered in protective terra cotta tiles.
• Despite their Greek origins, Etruscan temples are unique. They are frontal and axial and oft have more than one cella . Etruscan temples stand on high podia with a unmarried central staircase located at the front. Prostyle Tuscan columns stand on a deep porch and support the roof.
• The temple'due south wide eaves, low pitch roof, and terra cotta tiles protect the building's organic materials. Antefixes further protect the edifice from the elements and animals by concealing the wood beams.
• Akroteria , life-sized terra cotta sculptures , were placed along the ridgepole and on the cornice and peaks to decorate the temple. These figures were often tied together thematically or through myths.

Key Terms

• antefix: The vertical blocks that terminate the covering tiles of the roof of a Roman, Etruscan, or Greek temple.
• hind: A female person deer, particularly a red deer at to the lowest degree two years old.
• cella: The inner bedchamber of a temple where the cult prototype or statue is kept.

Etruscan Temples

Etruscan temples were adjusted from Greek- style temples to create a new Etruscan fashion, which, in turn would later influence Roman temple design. The temple was only one part of the templum, the divers sacred space that includes the building, altar and other sacred ground , springs, and buildings. As in Hellenic republic and Rome , the chantry used for sacrifice and ritual ceremonies was located outside the temple.

Today only the foundations and terra cotta decorations of Etruscan temples remain, since the temples themselves were primarily built of forest and mud brick that eroded and degraded over time. The Etruscans used stone or tufa as the foundation of their temples.

Tufa is a local volcanic stone that is soft, piece of cake to carve, and hardens when exposed to air. The superstructure of the temple was built from wood and mud brick. Stucco or plaster covered the walls and was either burnished to a shine or painted. Terra cotta roof tiles protected the organic material and increased the longevity and integrity of the edifice.

The foundation of an Etruscan temple at Orvieto: The central stairway highlights the frontality of the temple that one time stood at this site.

The Bones Temple Structure

Archeology and a written account by the Roman architect Vitruvius during the late first century BCE allow us to reconstruct a basic model of a typical Etruscan temple. Etruscan temples were usually frontal, axial, and built on a high podium with a unmarried central staircase that allowed access to the cella (or cellas).

Two rows of prostyle columns stood on the forepart of the temple's portico . The columns were of the Tuscan order, a derivative of the Doric society consisting of a simple shaft on a base with a simple uppercase . A calibration model of the Portonaccio Sanctuary of Minerva suggests that the bases and capitals of its columns were painted with alternating dark- and light-valued hues .

While most portico columns were fabricated of forest, at that place is evidence that some were made of stone, as at Veii. They were tall and widely spaced across a deep porch, adjustment with the walls of the cellas.

A model of Portonaccio Sanctuary of Minerva: C. 510 BCE, in Veii, Italy.

Etruscans often, although non e'er, worshiped multiple gods in a unmarried temple. In such cases, each god received its own cella that housed its cult statue. Often the 3-cella temple would be dedicated to the principal gods of the Etruscan pantheon —Tinia, Uni, and Menrva (comparable to the Roman gods Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva).

The wooden roof had a low pitch and was covered by a protective layer of terracotta tiles. Eaves with broad overhangs helped to protect the organic textile from rain.

Footing plan of an Etruscan temple: Etruscan temples were ordinarily frontal, axial, and built on a high podium with a unmarried key staircase that immune access to the cella (or cellas).

Many aspects of Vitruvius' description fit what archaeologists can demonstrate. However deviations did exist. It is clear that Etruscan temples could take a number of forms and also varied over the 400-year period during which they were being made. Nevertheless, Vitruvius remains the inevitable starting point for a description and a contrast of Etruscan temples with their Greek and Roman equivalents.

Antefix

To further protect the roof beams from pelting, insects, and birds, the stop of each row of roof tiles was capped by an ornamentation known as an antefix. Antefixes also lined the area of the façade that corresponds to the pinnacle of the frieze and bottom of the pediment on a Greek temple.

These apartment ornaments were normally made of terra cotta from a mold, and were sometimes made of rock. The antefixes were brightly painted and ofttimes depicted images female and male person faces or simple geometric designs. The male faces were oftentimes representations of the Etruscan equivalent to Dionysus or his followers, including Silenus or fauns.

Although some antefixes depicted women, many of the female figures were representations of Gorgons, such every bit Medusa. The Gorgon-faced antefixes frequently showed a wide-eyed, circular confront surrounded past either wings or snakes. The Gorgon and Dionysiac antefixes served apotropaic functions, intended to ward off evil and protect the temple site.

Antefix with the head of a Gorgon: The Gorgon and Dionysiac antefixes served apotropaic functions, intended to ward off evil and protect the temple site. This ane is made of terra cotta, c. 6th–5th century BCE.

Antefix with a Silenus face: The male faces were often representations of the Etruscan equivalent to Dionysus or his followers, including Silenus or fauns.

Akroteria

For much of their history, the Etruscans did non decorate their temples in the Greek manner with friezes or pedimental sculptures. Instead, they placed terracotta statues called akroteria along the roof'south ridge pool and on the peaks and edges of the pediment.

These akroteria figures were generally built slightly larger than life-sized and were connected thematically. The Apulu of Veii is one case of an akroteria and is part of a sculptural group that depicts the story of Herakles and the Ceryneaian Hind .

Etruscan Tombs

Etruscan tombs, grave goods, and necropoleis provide invaluable testify for the study of Etruscan order and culture.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the tombs, funerary practices, and grave goods of the early Etruscans

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Etruscan burying methods include both cremation and inhumation. The funerary practices of the Etruscans inverse from their utilize of cinerary urns in the shape of huts in the 9th and 8th century to subterranean tombs carved from tufa and living rock that was richly decorated.
• The Banditaccia Necropolis at Cervetri is known for its tufa tombs craved into tumuli. These tombs often took the shape of Etruscan homes and included roof beams and thatching carved into the ceilings. The tombs hold beds or niches or sarcophagi for the remains of the deceased.
• The Tomb of the Reliefs is a richly busy, multi-generation tomb. The walls and pillars of the tomb are carved with a variety of objects that would be used by the dead in the afterlife, from everyday to specialty objects, including dining utensils, helmets, and swords.
• The Monterozzi Necropolis outside of Tarquinia was used from the 9th century to the 2d century BCE. Information technology is near well known for its frescoed tombs that include painted scenes of symposia , dancing, hunting, fishing, and ritual .
• The so-called Tomb of the Augurs was the first tomb in Tarquinia to depict Etruscan funerary customs in add-on to the already established mythological scenes. The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing and the Tomb of the Leopards depict typical Etruscan funerary imagery in a common Etruscan painting way . The scenes relate to Etruscan culture and society, and evidence the inclusion of women in a symposium and a close connection to nature.

Fundamental Terms

• cippus: A low, round, or rectangular pedestal used every bit a funerary boundary mail service by the Etruscans. The Romans would later use it for armed services purposes.
• dromos: A long, narrow passage to a tomb.
• necropolis: A large cemetery, particularly one of elaborate construction in an ancient city.
• augur: A seer who bases his or her prophecies on interpretations derived from the behavior of birds.
• tumulus: A mound of world, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.
• apotropaic: Intended to ward off evil.

Etruscan Tombs

Tombs and necropoleis are among the about excavated and studied parts of Etruscan civilization. Scholars learn nigh Etruscan society and culture from the written report of Etruscan funerary do. Burial urns and sarcophagi, both large and small, were used to hold the cremated remains of the expressionless.

Early forms of burial include the burying of ashes with grave goods in funerary urns and pocket-sized ceramic huts. Later, in the 7th century BCE, the Etruscans began burying their dead in subterranean family tombs. The necropoleis at Cerveteri and Tarquinia are the most well known for their tumuli and frescoed tombs.

Hut urn: Etruscan cinerary hut urn with a door, fabricated of impasto, 8th century BCE.

The grave goods found in these tombs indicate to the Etruscan conventionalities in an afterlife that required the same types of goods and materials as in the world of the living. Many examples of Greek pottery take been recovered from Etruscan tombs. These vessels , forth with other foreign goods, demonstrate the extent of the Etruscan trade network.

Painted scenes of frivolity, celebration, hunting, and religious practise tell the viewer about Etruscan daily life, rituals, their belief virtually the afterlife, and their social norms. The imagery and grave goods found in Etruscan tombs help inform the modern-day viewer near the nature of Etruscan club.

Banditaccia Necropolis at Cerveteri

The tombs of the Banditaccia Necropolis outside Cerveteri were carved into large, circular mounds known as tumuli. Each tumulus was the burial site for a unmarried family, and ane to iv clandestine tombs were cut into the circular tumulus.

Each tomb often represented a separate generation. The tombs were carved with a long, narrow entranceway known equally a dromos that opened into a single or multi-room chamber. The decorative style of each sleeping accommodation and tomb varied with the menstruation and the family'due south wealth—the wealthier the family, the more intricately carved and decorated the tomb.

Banditaccia Necropolis: This is electric current-24-hour interval photograph of the Banditaccia Necropolis, c. seventh–2nd BCE, in Cerveteri, Italy.

Near tombs assumed the shape and style of Etruscan homes. The ceilings were frequently carved to represent wood roof beams. Thatching and decorative columns were often added to a room. The entrances and the individual rooms inside were often framed by doorways carved in a typical design.

Piers are topped with capitals carved in a stylized motif that resembles those from Corinthian columns. Each room contained beds or niches, sometimes with a carved tufa pillow, for the deposition of the body.

The well-nigh recent tombs in Banditaccia date from the tertiary century BCE. Some of are marked past external purlieus posts called cippi (singular cippus). Cylindrical cippi outside a tomb indicate that its occupants are male, while those in the class of pocket-sized houses betoken female occupants.

Cippi outside a tomb in the Banditaccia necropolis: The phallic shape of these cippi indicates that men are interred in the tomb.

The Tomb of the Reliefs

The Tomb of the Reliefs is i of the nearly well known, largest, and richly decorated tombs from the Banditaccia Necropolis. This tomb is named for the numerous tufa reliefs of everyday objects inside.

The walls and piers are covered in carved and painted reliefs of everyday objects including rope, drinking cups, pitches, mirrors, knives, helmets, and shields. Not fifty-fifty companion animals were forgotten in the afterlife. A stretching cat adorns the base of the column on the left, while i in mid-motion (stalking casualty?) adorns the base of the cavalcade on the right.

Elsewhere in the tomb, mythological subject matter appears. In the center is a depiction of the three-headed domestic dog, Cerberus, the guardian to the underworld.

Tomb of the Reliefs: This is the interior of the Tomb of the Reliefs. It is composed of carved tufa and paint from the 3rd century BCE.

Monterozzi Necropolis at Tarquinia

The tombs of the Monterozzi Necropolis outside of Tarquinia are also subterranean burial chambers. The graves from the necropolis date from the 7th century BCE until the start century BCE. The tombs here are similar to the surreptitious, tufa cut tombs of Cerveteri that were accessed through a dromos.

The Tomb of the Augurs

The Tomb of the Augurs (530–520 BCE) was ane of the kickoff in Tarquinia to have figurative decorations on all 4 walls of its main or only bedchamber. Its name derives from a possible misinterpretation of two figures on the rear wall.

This tomb is besides the start to depict Etruscan funerary rites and funerary games in addition to mythological scenes, which were already established in traditional funerary art .

A fresco depicting a door flanked by 2 men appears on the rear wall of the Tomb of the Augurs. Scholars have come to dissimilar conclusions as to the significance of the door. Some interpret it equally a representational analogy of the door to the tomb. Others argue that it is a symbolic door or portal to the underworld that acts as a barrier between the kingdom of the living and the kingdom of the dead.

The two men each extend i arm toward the door and places the other hand places the mitt confronting his forehead in a gesture of salutation and mourning. Past interpretations identify the men every bit augurs. Still, the word Apastanasar, which appears on the wall next to the man on the right, contains the root of apa, which means father. This leads scholars to conclude that they 2 men are more likely relatives of the deceased.

Augurs: A fresco on the interior rear wall of the Tomb of the Augurs, c. 530 BCE.

The Tomb of the Leopards

The Tomb of the Leopards (early fifth century BCE) consists of a single room and is one of the all-time-known tombs of Tarquinia. The Banqueting Scene, the most famous mural in the tomb, is divided into 2 panels: the pediment and the frieze .

The pediment depicts ii white leopards in a heraldic composition . This depiction is reminiscent of the leopards from the pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu. The felines are used for their protective features.

Below the pediment is the primary scene depicted on a central frieze that wraps around the room. This epitome depicts men and women with servants at a symposium. The scenes are festive and joyous. The men and women are distinguished respectively with dark and light pare tones .

The mere presence of women in the Banqueting Scene is unique for its fourth dimension, suggesting a gender-inclusive culture. However, the women's assumption of the same positions as their male counterparts and their patently active participation in the festivities propose a level of gender equality unseen among the Greeks or, later, the Romans.

The Banqueting Scene: A fresco on the interior back wall of the Tomb of the Leopards, c. 480–470 BCE.

The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing

The Tomb of Hunting and Angling consists of ii rooms. The frescos in the start room are badly damaged but appear to depict Etruscans dancing outside. Ii copse frame the doorway into the second room. This room gives the tomb its name, as information technology depicts a scene of men hunting and fishing.

Men in boats are fishing in a ocean populated by fish and dolphins. On a rock outcropping in the water, one man prepares to dive, while another climbs to the meridian. Meanwhile, another man aims a slingshot at the birds that flock overhead. This scene depicts the Etruscans' human relationship with nature and the importance of hunting and fishing in Etruscan society.

Tomb of Hunting and Fishing: This is a fresco on the interior back wall from the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, c. 530–520 BCE.

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Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/early-etruscan-art/

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