Photos of the Beautiful Distinctive Etruscan Art Antiquities

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Photos of the Beautiful Distinctive Etruscan Art Antiquities including Etruscan Pottery & Sarcophagi from the Great Museums of Europe. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful Distinctive Etruscan Art Antiquities

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Photos of Etruscan art antiquities.

Who Are the Etruscans?

The Etruscan Civilisation occupied central Italy between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. At their greatest their lands ran from the North Eastern Italian Alps, across the Po Valley to Tuscany then down the western side of the Apennine Mountains to Campania. Their main strongholds were in Tuscany, Lazio & Umbria

Etruscan Terracotta Sculptures

Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilisation between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. The Etruscans liked figurative sculpture in terracotta and produced beautiful terracotta sarcophagi. On the lids, Kline style, were sculptures of reclining figures depicting the deceased.

As well as burials the Etruscans cremated bodies. For the creation ashes they made Hellenistic style cinerary, funerary, urns. The lid had a sculpture of the deceased and the sides of the urns were heavily sculpted.

Etruscan Metal Workers

The Etruscans were very fine metal workers and there are some fine examples of Bronze sculptures such as the Chimera of Arezzo, & the Young Warrior statue in the Vatican Museums.

There are many examples of Etruscan phiale or patera, which are flattened wine drinking bowl. They are heavily patterned and were designed to be held in one hand whist lying on a couch. This was the traditional way of reclining and drinking adopted by the Ancient Greeks and Romans as well.

Etruscan Pottery

Terracotta was the chosen medium of Etruscan sculptors and potters. Terracotta Portraits Busts show the skill of Etruscan sculptors whilst the many styles of Etruscan pottery show the creative powers of Etruscan potters.

The Etruscans produced a very fine black pottery known as Bucchero . Etruscan art had a very particular style. The artist liked rounded depictions and created very unusual depictions. There are examples of  Bucchero style skyphos jug with charismatic bull heads as the jug spouts. The body of these is heavily sculpted with figurative depictions.

With their eye on export markets Etruscan potters started copying popular Ancient Greek pottery styles. There are many examples of Etruscan copies of Corinthian and Attica styles of pottery. The give away is the style of the figurative painting. The Etruscans could copy the pottery techniques perfectly but chose to keep their own distinctive painting styles.