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A baby with a lively facial expression is stiffly swaddled. Possibly the figure was dedicated to the gods in return for protection against childhood disease. Babies were customarily wrapped in swaddling clothes until about their first birthday to let them rest and prevent their arms and legs from growing crooked. Fertility could be requested of the gods by offering them clay models of human parts like the womb, breasts or genitals.

Etruria
The fifth-century Greek historian Herodotus relates that the Etruscans left Asia Minor by sea and, after wandering around for some time, ended up in Italy (I, 94). The adherents of his account cite the relation between the Etruscan language and the languages of Asia Minor. In Etruscan art various elements can be recognized which were definitely borrowed from other cultures, while many distinctly Etruscan features are equally evident. With their colonies in southern Italy, the Greeks exerted particular influence. Thus the stylistic classification of Etruscan art parallels that of the Greeks, including archaic, classical and Hellenistic periods.

City-states
The Etruscans lived in central Italy between Florence and Rome, that is, between the rivers Arno and Tiber. Etruria never truly formed a unified country or a politically coherent region, however. Like the Greeks, they were governed by city-states which functioned relatively independently. The 12 most important formed a federation which met once a year: Veii, Cervetri, Tarquinia, Vulci, Orvieto, Roselle, Vetulonia, Populonia, Chiusi, Perugia, Arezzo, Volterra.

Villanovan period
The earliest phase of Etruscan culture, about 900-675 B.C., is named 'Villanovan' after the small town of Villanova in the vicinity of Bologna where, in the nineteenth century, the first remains of the period were discovered. The economy centred mainly on agriculture in combination with a small amount of trade. Burials have yielded the most characteristic artefacts, made mostly of clay and bronze. The different types of bronze clasps or fibulae, resembling safety pins, are named after their different forms, for example, disc, snake and bloodsucker fibulae.

Cinerary urns
With their conical bowls and lids, the so-called biconical ash urns are also typically Villanovan. They were not shaped on a potter's wheel but built up by hand from rather rough, unpurified clay which fired grey, brown or deep black. The final product is today referred to as impasto. The decorative lines were incised when the clay was still moist.

Bucchero pottery
It is said of the Etruscans that they ate twice a day, well and profusely. The lustrous black pottery called bucchero typifies their material culture in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. It was used for pouring and drinking wine. The word 'bucchero' is not Etruscan but comes from the Spanish name for South American pottery which was much imitated in the nineteenth century. Early wheel-turned bucchero dating from the second half of the seventh century is thin-walled and has a shiny, deep black surface. The solid black colour results from the low temperature and smoky atmosphere in which the pottery was fired. Most probably, bucchero developed as an improved form of the earlier rough impasto. It often appears to imitate metalware. A few decades later, bucchero became less refined as the thickness of the wall increased and the colour grew greyer. Bucchero's fan-shaped ornaments are particularly striking: they were pressed with a comb into the leather hard clay. Other motifs were made with a cylinder stamp which was rolled over the moist surface.

Temples
The Etruscan pantheon was inspired by the Greek gods. Like the Greeks, the Etruscans regarded a temple as the house of the god to whom it was dedicated, although their actual temples differed from those of the Greeks. As the majority of these sacred buildings, which are known to have been in Veii, Orvieto and Pyrgi, were constructed of wood, they have largely or completely perished. However, thanks to the books of the Roman architect Vitruvius, written in the first century B.C., we have a good idea of how they looked. Moreover, clay models of Etruscan temples furnish us with indispensable information. They were offered as ex-votos and discovered buried in pits near sanctuaries which archaeologists have excavated. Curiously, none of the models shows the stairs which led up the podium on which the temple stood.

Antefixes
The dating of Etruscan temples depends on stylistic analyses of their terracotta ornaments. The roof was covered with terracotta tiles, and sometimes terracotta statues stood on the ridgepole. The flat tiles were linked to each other by curving ones. Along the eave, the opening of each semicircular tile was closed off with a so-called antefix, which was very often colourfully painted. The mysterious expression on her lips is known as an 'archaic smile'. The so-called archaic Ionian style of the face refers to the influence of sixth-century artisans who emigrated from the western coast of Asia Minor to Etruria. Features of this style are the oval head and the almond-shaped eyes.

Votive offerings
The practice of giving votives to the gods was commonplace in Etruria. In this way, an Etruscan tried to come directly into contact with a god or at least to gain a god's favour. Huge numbers of such offerings have come to light during excavations. Their forms greatly vary, ranging from bronze statuettes of warriors or gods to small clay portrayals of animals. Many museum collections preserve terracotta representations of parts of human bodies which the Etruscans dedicated to the gods in the hope of being healed. Hundreds of such anatomical images have been unearthed around the sanctuaries of gods who directly influenced mankind's health.

End of the Etruscans
From about 700 to 500 B.C. the Etruscans were prosperous and powerful. After several defeats in the fifth century B.C., however, the position of Etruria dwindled markedly as Rome became the new regional power. One by one the Etruscan towns fell.
The erosion of Etruria's power during the Hellenistic period, from about 300 to 100 B.C., is paralleled by frequently occurring themes which allude to death. A good example is the above-mentioned farewell scene illustrated on many cinerary caskets. A dispirited world view is also suggested by the numerous death demons and underworld personages who seem to foreshadow Etruria's demise.
In 83-82 B.C. the Roman general Sulla undertook expeditions against Etruria, and a battle near Perugia, in 40 B.C., marked its end. In 27 B.C., as Augustus became emperor, Etruria officially became part of the Roman empire. But the Etruscans greatly influenced the Romans, especially at the beginning of the empire when many of them advised Augustus. Furthermore, the Etruscans, especially their artistic accomplishments, acted as a link between Greek civilization and Rome.


Bucchero pottery The typically lustrous black Etruscan pottery of the seventh and sixth centuries is named bucchero. This wheel-turned ware was manufactured in various places in Etruria. Motifs were often pressed into the surface while it was still soft, like reliefs made with cylinder seals.


An ornamental pin or broach, no less than 35.0 cm long! The clasp is constructed of two bent pieces of bronze sheet which are soldered to each other along their lengths. The decoration comprises engraved geometric motifs and bronze rings.


A baby with a lively facial expression is stiffly swaddled. Possibly the figure was dedicated to the gods in return for protection against childhood disease. Babies were customarily wrapped in swaddling clothes until about their first birthday to let them rest and prevent their arms and legs from growing crooked. Fertility could be requested of the gods by offering them clay models of human parts like the womb, breasts or genitals.


At all times and in all cultures the living take respectful leave of the dead. The lid of this stone cinerary urn features a reclining youth who, judging from his well-fed look, belonged to an affluent family. The casket's relief depicts the dead youth in front of an entrance. Is it the door of his parental home or that of the underworld? His family bids him farewell.


The roofs of Etruscan temples were covered with flat and curving terracotta tiles. The lowermost curving tiles were closed off with a vertical relief plate, a so-called antefix. This specimen represents a woman's face. Her diadem, earrings and necklace are painted in pleasant colours. Judging from the subtle 'archaic smile' and the shape of the eyes, the antefix can be dated to the second half of the sixth century B.C.


A stylish Etruscan woman could look at herself in the polished surface of one side of this mirror. The opposite side bears an engraved mythological theme. On the left, the Greek hero Achilles kneels on an altar, holding up a sword in his raised right hand after just murdering Troilus, the son of the Trojan king. Troilus is shown dying on the right, with blood flowing from his left arm. The warrior in the middle can be either a Greek or a Trojan. The engraved style of this masterful Etruscan mirror, dating from the late classical period and probably manufactured at Praeneste, is purely Greek.