Etruscan Art

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on the Palestine coast, some went North, while a group, no doubt parts of the sea­borne
forces, are supposed to have reached Etruria and Sardinia.
Still another theory considers the Tuscans as a very old Mediterranean race with
the usual Eastern ties that was able to partially resist the Indo-European influx
and maintain a certain amount of national integrity. It is evident that the indige­nous
population did develop a civilization on the spot over a long period, experi­encing
the usual flow and ebb of outside influences. The name Etruscan is not
generally applied to the region until around the VIII Century B.C. when significant
changes began to take place. Villages were expanded into towns. Funerary prac­tices
changed from cremation and pit burials to inhumation in rock-lined graves
and chambers. Inscriptions appear in a modified form of the Greek alphabet but
in a language different from Greek. Any attempt to explain these and other changes
in the light of expanded local activity instead of bringing in a physical foreign ele­ment
calls for a close look at the so-called pre-Etruscan or "Villanova" culture
(named after a large ancient cemetery near Bologna). Villanova sites occur through­out
Etruria yielding art forms in ceramics and metals (iron & bronze) decorated
at times with geometric motifs relating to the general geometric period of the X
Century B.C. and earlier. A distinctive feature of their potter's art is the "impasto"
ware in light to dark browns, a gracefully modeled, sophisticated product out of
which developed the black "Bucchero" pottery (one of the hallmarks of Etruscan
art) made from purer clays and more highly fired . Bronze work was also of a high
quality. Archaeological evidence indicates considerable contact with such centers
as Rhodes.
It would seem that in Villanovan times this region was sufficiently equipped socially
and economically to set off on a trade offensive of its own that culminated in the
Etruscan domination of the sea during the VII and VI Centuries B.C. The Greeks
write of the difficulties encountered at sea with the Etruscans during their efforts
to colonize Sicily in the VIII Century. This successful build-up of maritime power
and control of trade routes was matched in some degree by territorial expansion on
the mainland north to the Po Valley and south to Naples. Their chief exportable
commodities were iron, copper, tin, and lead in ingot and utensil form. The wealth
acquired was great and served to finance increased expansion and a luxurious
living standard at home. Foreign talents were imported to establish workshops
and trade centers in leading cities. Etruria acted as a trading and cultural link be­tween
the Mediterranean and peoples beyond the Alps. The chariot was intro­duced
at this time and possibly the olive and grape along with irrigation techniques.
Political unity was achieved through a loose federation of City States. Each was
at first ruled by monarchs or priest-kings who gradually gave way around the V
Century B.C. to an aristocratic oligarchy. Decisions affecting the territory were
usually reached at periodical meetings of a religious and festive nature such as the
annual feasts and games at the sanctuary of the God Voltumna near Lake Bolsena.
Had true political and military unity been established and maintained, history might
have been considerably altered.
This was a civilization that reflected, with limitations, the esthetic developments
of the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece, but with sufficient significant local in­ventions
and characteristics in form, style, content, and execution to give it an
indisputable place in the history of art. Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Syria all
had a hand in affecting Mid-Mediterranean arts of the Minoan and Mycenean
civilizations who in turn had much to do with the evolution of forms and styles
in this region. The first geometric phase in Etruria possibly received its impetus
from Cyprus and Rhodes followed by the "Orientalizing" period when gold, silver,