Etruskische Wandmalerei PDF

Stephan
Steingräber
A  A The frescoes in Etruscan tombs offer the earliest
Abundance of Life
examples of ancient monumental painting known in
Stephan Steingräber is an archaeologist and a profes-
the West before the Romans, and the only continuous
sor of Etruscology and Italic Antiquity at Roma Tre
Abundance
cycle that allows us to follow the changing fashions
University. He has written or contributed to nearly
ninety works in his field, including, most recently, and styles of the art of the Etruscans. In sheer quan-
Investing in the Afterlife: Royal and Aristocratic Tombs tity, only the paintings of Pompeii are comparable.
in Ancient Etruria, Southern Italy, Macedonia and And as at Pompeii, we can still see many of these
Thrace, an exhibition catalogue for the University paintings in situ in the house-shaped tombs of the
rich elite when we visit the necropolises, or cities of
of Life
of Tokyo Museum, and Volterra; Etruskisches und
mittelalterliches Juwel im Herzen der Toscana. the dead, at Tarquinia and other Etruscan cities, such
as Cerveteri, Vulci, and Orvieto, northwest of Rome.
The striking paintings in these “underground muse-
B  R I
ums” make it clear why the Etruscans have excited
F G P the imaginations of scholars and poets for centuries.
Domus
Wall Painting in the Roman House
Donatella Mazzoleni and Umberto Pappalardo
Etruscan Wall Painting The Etruscan elite and its love of luxury are on dis-
play in the earlier tombs, where beautifully dressed
couples recline on couches at lavish banquets, waited
on by handsome slaves and entertained by musicians,
 pages
 color illustrations swirling dancers, and athletic games. The mood
changes in the later tombs, where we see Hades and
Etruscan Civilization Persephone enthroned and demons escorting the
A Cultural History dead on their long and perilous journey to the
Sybille Haynes underworld.
 pages
 color and  b/w illustrations Steingräber traces this stylistic and iconographic evo-
lution over the span of five hundred years, from the
Etruscan Wall Painting

The Etruscans Outside Etruria
first half of the eighth century to the first half of the
Edited by Giovannangelo Camporeale
second century B.C., including an analysis of the most
 pages
 color illustrations recent discoveries, such as the Tomba dei demoni
azzurri (Tomb of the Blue Demons) at Tarquinia.
He discusses what these paintings reveal about
Etruscan daily life, religion, and funerary rites and
compares them with works of art from southern Italy,
Macedonia, and Asia Minor to discover how they fit
into the more general picture of ancient painting.
 color illustrations
Getty Publications
 Getty Center Drive, Suite 
Los Angeles, California -
www.getty.edu
-: --- On the front cover:

On the back cover: Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back wall of the
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Augurs: detail of the left wall back chamber: detail of the seascape with boat, fishermen,
with escaping masked Phersu, ca.  .. and water birds, ca.  ..
Printed in Italy
Stephan Steingräber
Stephan
Steingräber
Abundance of Life
Abundance
of Life
B  R I
Domus
 pages
 pages

 pages
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu

Printed in Italy
Abundance of Life
Abundance of Life
Translated by
Russell Stockman
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

To the memory of Marina and Uschi,
who loved ancient art, and who to my
mind ideally embodied the cultures of
Italy and Germany.
Italian edition © 2006 Arsenale Editrice, Verona, Italy Front endpapers:

Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back wall of
English translation © 2006 J. Paul Getty Trust
the back chamber: seascape with boat, fishermen, and
First published in the United States of America in water birds, ca. 510 ..
2006 by
Getty Publications Back endpapers:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500 Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards, left wall: procession
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1682 of youths with instruments, drinking vessels, and
www.getty.edu other objects, ca. 480 ..
Mark Greenberg, Editor in Chief
Ann Lucke, Managing Editor

Robin Ray, Copy Editor
Mollie Holtman, Editor
Pamela Heath, Production Coordinator
Hespenheide Design, Composition and Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steingräber, Stephan.
[Pittura murale etrusca. English]
Etruscan wall painting : from the geometric period
to the Hellenistic period / Stephan Steingräber ;
translated by Russell Stockman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN-13: 978-0-89236-865-5 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-89236-865-9 (hardcover)
1. Mural painting and decoration, Etruscan. 2.
Tombs—Decoration—Etruria. I. Title.
ND2565.S7413 2006
751.7'309375—dc22
2006008439
Printed in Italy
Table of Contents
6 Foreword A
9 Introduction 306 Chronology
27 The History of Etruscan Wall Painting: 308 Register of Painted Etruscan Tombs
Style, Workshops, Chronology, Iconography,
and “Ideology” 312 Plans of Tombs
31 The Beginnings: 314 Glossary

The Etrusco-Geometric (or Early Orientalizing)
316 Bibliography
Period (end of the eighth century–650 ..)
322 Ancient Literary Sources
41 Asian and Corinthian Influences:
The Orientalizing Period (650–575 ..)
322 Prosopographic Index of Family Names from
Hellenistic Tarquinia
63 The First Major Flowering and the “Ionic
Koine”: The Archaic Period (575–480 ..)
323 Index
129 Between Traditionalism and Innovation:
The Sub-Archaic and Classical Periods
(480–400 ..)
185 The Great Changes:

The Late Classical Period (400–330/320 ..)
245 Final Flowering and Conclusion:

The Early and High Hellenistic Period
(330/320–end of the third/beginning of the
second century ..)
281 From Asia Minor to Magna Graecia,

from Thrace to Alexandria:
The “Koine” and the Place of Etruscan Painting
in the Art of the Ancient Mediterranean
Foreword
It has now been two full decades since the “Anno Arsenale Editrice for deciding to publish a wholly
degli Etruschi” in 1985, which was marked by a new, large-format, comprehensive book about
major international congress of Etruscologists in Etruscan wall painting—naturally this means
Florence and a series of interesting Etruscan exhi- mainly tomb painting—in its new “Domus”
bitions in various Tuscan cities. That year also saw series. The first volume of the series, Pittura e
the publication of the first compendium work on Architettura d’illusione nella casa romana, by
Etruscan tomb paintings, Etruscan Wall Painting, D. Mazzoleni, U. Pappalardo, and L. Romano,
or the Catalogo regionato della pittura etrusca. The appeared in 2004. Other volumes on different
work was the fruit of an international, German- aspects of ancient painting are planned. Like that
Italian-Japanese collaboration, and was published book, the new Etruscan Wall Painting features a
in four languages (German, Italian, English, wealth of high-quality, mainly color photographs
Japanese). Edited by S. Steingräber, it contained produced by a number of different photogra-
contributions by Steingräber, M. Pallottino, phers. They include the author; Helmut
F. Roncalli, L. V. Borelli, C. Weber-Lehmann, and Schwanke, the former photographer of the
M. Aoyagi. The main feature of the book, which German Archaeological Institute in Rome; the
was published by Iwanami (Tokyo), Jacabook master Japanese photographer Takashi Okamura
(Milan), Belser (Stuttgart), and Johnson Reprint (who contributed the majority of the color photos
(New York), was an extensive catalogue of for the 1985 publication and went on to produce
Etruscan tomb paintings known up to that time, superb photographic documentation of the
with emphasis on Tarquinia. The work has long Vatican’s Sistine Chapel); the Italian photogra-
been out of print, and to date it has not been phers Luciano Romano (who furnished almost
supplanted by anything comparable. The pub- all the color illustrations in the first volume in the
lisher, any number of specialists, and devotees “Domus” series) and Araldo di Luca (François
of Etruscan art and painting had hoped to see it Tomb after its restoration); and photographers
reprinted in a revised and expanded new edition, from the Soprintendenze Archeologiche of
but this proved an impossibility, in part for legal southern Etruria (Rome, Villa Giulia), Tuscany
reasons. We must therefore be grateful to Verona’s (Florence), and Umbria (Perugia). One of the
6 FOREWORD
features of Arsenale’s new “Domus” series is its I wish to thank Arsenale Editrice for its
generous use of so-called Tintoretto paper, made initiative in the preparation of this new publica-
in France, which has a certain roughness to it; tion on Etruscan painting, and Silvia Scamperle
looking at reproductions of Etruscan wall paint- for her collaboration in the planning of the
ings printed on it, one can almost feel their book, the selection of photographs, and her edi-
details. The text is also illustrated with early torial suggestions.
engravings, drawings, watercolors, and lucidi of It is my hope that readers will think of
certain tomb paintings that have been lost or are this new publication as an homage to the many
difficult to make out, as well as various plans. The experts and connoisseurs of Etruscan painting
text is composed of a lengthy introduction that who are now dwelling among the gods and
addresses the fundamentals; a main section made heroes, above all Massimo Pallottino, the
up of six chapters, arranged chronologically, founder of modern Etruscology, whose works
focusing on the styles, workshops, and iconogra- on Tarquinia (Monumenti Antichi 36, 1937) and
phy found in Etruscan painting and its develop- Etruscan Painting (Geneva, 1952) still stand as
ment through the centuries; and a concluding milestones in the exploration and study of
chapter on the place of Etruscan painting in pre- Etruscan art and painting. But a special dedica-
Roman painting in the Mediterranean region. tion is due to two friends whose demise was
Footnotes have been deliberately omitted. The greatly premature: Marina Mazzei (1955–2004),
appendix includes an extensive bibliography, dis- for many years the director of the Foggia branch
tribution maps, chronological tables, and indexes. of the Soprintendenza della Puglia and a brilliant
The register of painted Etruscan tombs presents scholar of Apulio-Daunian archaeology; and
only the most crucial information and is not Uschi Hafner-Grimm (1951–2005), instructor in
intended to take the place of a comprehensive cat- Latin and English at the glorious Melanchthon
alogue. Such a catalogue, intended mainly for the Gymnasium in Nuremberg, an institution that I
use of specialists and students of archaeology and once attended and one to which I never cease to
Etruscology, is planned for another publication. feel connected.
FOREWORD 7
Introduction
Etruscan tomb paintings, especially the painted 1950s and 1970s, largely thanks to systematic geo- Facing page: Naruto, Japan, Otsuka Museum. Full-
hypogea of the coastal metropolis Tarquinia, are physical prospecting in Tarquinia’s Monterozzi size ceramic reproduction of Tarquinia’s Tomb of
the Augurs
unquestionably among the most important and necropolis by the Fondazione Lerici. Over the past
expressive remains of Etruscan culture, and they few decades several seminal publications and a
have excited the imaginations of experts and systematic evaluation of the many lucidi, facsimi-
other Etruscan enthusiasts over the centuries. If les, watercolors, and drawings of tomb paintings
one sets aside their Bronze Age precursors in from the nineteenth century have added consider-
Minoan and Mycenaean palace painting from the ably to our understanding of them. There have
second millennium .., they stand at the begin- also been exciting new discoveries like the Tomb
ning of the history of European wall and monu- of the Blue Demons (dei Demoni azzurri) in
mental painting, and as it were constitute the first Tarquinia, the Late Orientalizing tomb in the
chapter in the history of Italian painting. The Cancellone area near Magliano Toscano, the
special significance of Etruscan tomb paintings Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga (della Quadriga
lies not only in their splendid colors, their rich infernale) in Sarteano, and a painted under-
iconography, and the variety of their expressive ground space of a nonsepulchral nature within
possibilities, but also in the fact that they serve the ancient precinct of Cerveteri. Of further assis-
us as a kind of substitute, however inadequate, tance in our reconstruction of the history of
for the famous Greek wall and panel painting Etruscan painting are various painted clay
of which virtually nothing survives. Etruria’s plaques, so-called pinakes, most of them from
unique “underground museum” presents the the Archaic period (and from Cerveteri), and
largest and most important collection of ancient later Etruscan painted sarcophagi (mainly from
wall painting from the pre-Roman period in the Tarquinia) and urns (mainly from Volterra,
Mediterranean region. Perugia, and Chiusi). Unfortunately, nothing has
Etruscan tomb painting spans nearly five survived of possible wall paintings (some on clay
hundred years, from the second quarter of the or wood plaques) in Etruscan temples, sacred
seventh century to the turn from the third to the structures, public buildings, or aristocratic houses,
second century .. The majority of it falls within simply because their materials (wood, clay bricks,
the Late Archaic period, that is, between the last opus craticium) were vulnerable to decay. We
decades of the sixth and first decades of the fifth do, however, read of them in Pliny (Nat. Hist.
centuries, and is concentrated (roughly 80 per- 35.17–18) as mainly in Caere and in Ardea and
cent) in Tarquinia’s Monterozzi necropolis and in Lanuvium in Latium. Certainly the most promi-
the necropolises of Veii, Cerveteri, Vulci, Orvieto, nent masters would have been commissioned
and Chiusi. Some examples may have been known to produce such wall paintings, some of them
as early as the Renaissance, but the first certain doubtless on mythological subjects, which unlike
discoveries date back to 1699. A number of painted those in tombs would have been accessible to the
tombs came to light in the second half of the broad public. Over the course of five centuries,
eighteenth century and the first half of the nine- tomb paintings naturally underwent changes in
teenth, but the number of known Etruscan technique, style, iconography, and “ideology.”
painted tombs roughly quadrupled between the They thus provide valuable information about
INTRODUCTION 9
everyday Etruscan life, society, fashion and taste, describe famous paintings and their subject mat-
religion, and beliefs relating to the cult of the ter, whether mythological or heroic, historical,
dead—at least those of the upper class. We know political, or religious, or representing theater,
the names of any number of Greek painters, but landscapes, still life, or personifications. Finally,
the individuals and workshops that created these they tell us about noted painters and their
works remain anonymous; with but a few excep- schools, discuss painting as a profession of con-
tions the same is true of the artists who produced siderable prestige (often greater than that of
all the other Etruscan art genres. Restoring and sculptors and architects), and describe the paint-
preserving these tomb paintings for future gener- ing process, including techniques, pigments, and
ations poses a special challenge. implements.
The main concern in this new publication is From all these literary sources it is clear that
to retrace the history of Etruscan wall painting— Greek painting reached its akmé, or culmination,
mainly, but not exclusively tomb painting—in between the end of the fifth and beginning of the
text and pictures, to present the various possible third centuries .., that is, in the Late Classical
interpretations of it, and to place it in the larger and Early Hellenistic periods. This “golden age” of
context of the history of painting in antiquity. Greek painting was based on a number of impor-
Needless to say, the greatest attention is given to tant stylistic and technical innovations attributed
the tomb paintings of Tarquinia, but the most by the ancient writers to specific famous painters
recent discoveries are discussed as well. Finally, to or their schools. The first major figure in Greek
show how Etruscan wall painting relates to that of painting was unquestionably Polygnotos of
the entire Mediterranean, I also compare it with Thasos, who worked in the Early Classical period,
monuments in southern Italy, Macedonia, Thrace, that is, in the second quarter of the fifth century.
southern Russia, Asia Minor, and Alexandria. The beginning of the “golden age” at the end of
the fifth century coincides with the careers of
Greek Monumental Painting such well-known Greek painters as Apollodorus
Let me first address Greek monumental painting, of Athens (the inventor of skiagraphia, balancing
without which many features of Etruscan painting light and shadow), Agatharchos of Samos (the
would surely be inconceivable. As already men- inventor of skene, or scenery painting for the
tioned, it has been almost completely lost, but theater), Parrhasios of Ephesus, and Zeuxis of
much is written about it—unlike Etruscan Heraclea. Greek painting in the first half of the
painting—by Greek and Roman writers, namely fourth century was mainly associated with such
Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristophanes, names as Eupompos, Pamphilos, Pausias, and
Polybius, Vitruvius, Pliny, Plutarch, Lucian, Melanthios, all of them representatives of the
Petronius, and Pausanias. Various handbooks Sikyon school of painting, Aristides from
and treatises on the history of Greek painting, Boeotian Thebes, and Euphranor from Corinth.
including the most recent one by Agnes Rouveret, The most prominent painters in the second half
are primarily based on these sources rather than of the fourth century were Nikias of Athens;
on original paintings. The sources provide a Philoxenos from Eretria, in Boeotia; Apelles
wealth of valuable information, including anec- from Colophon, in Asia Minor; and Protogenes
dotes, indicating the high esteem accorded to from Caunus, in Caria. The main activity of the
Greek pinakes, or wood panel paintings. They painters Antiphilos of Alexandria and Theon of
also describe the pinakothekes, or public, royal, Samos fell in the first decades of the third century.
and aristocratic painting galleries in Athens, The most famous Greek schools of painting were
Macedonia, Alexandria, and Pergamon, as well as those of Athens and Sikyon, in the Hellenistic
the public collections in Rome and the Roman period also Alexandria and Asia Minor. The lead-
aristocracy’s private collections of pinakes obtained ing painting center in Magna Graecia (southern
as plunder of war and art thefts (a pinax by the Italy) was Tarentum.
famous Greek painter Apelles was reused in the The Greeks produced paintings on wood
decoration of the Forum of Augustus in Rome). panels, clay plaques, stone, and plastered walls,
They discuss prices of paintings; describe the employing the three techniques of tempera,
preservation and restoration of paintings in encaustic, and fresco. Paintings decorated houses
antiquity; rank Greek paintings and painters; and and palaces, shrines and temples, theaters, tombs,
10 INTRODUCTION
and tomb monuments. Of all paintings, pinakes A number of important discoveries in the
were unquestionably the best-known and most 1980s and 1990s—especially in Macedonia—have
desirable, but virtually none has survived. We do added greatly to our knowledge of Greek paint-
not have a single pinax from the hand of any of ing and the painting of antiquity in general.
the many famous painters mentioned and praised These finds have occasioned a profusion of new
by the ancient writers. On the other hand, at least publications, exhibitions (mostly in connection
a few painted clay and wood panels by anony- with Macedonia and Alexander the Great), and
mous seventh- and sixth-century artists have congresses that have focused not so much on the
survived; there are examples from Thermos, in well-known ancient literary sources as on origi-
western Greece, and from Pitsa (near Corinth). nal paintings in Greece and other parts of the
In addition, there are painted grave steles from Mediterranean. Among the issues under discus-
the fourth and third centuries from Macedonia sion, some have to do with the iconography or
(Vergina, for example), Thessaly (Demetrias), “ideology” of these paintings. Other concerns
Alexandria, and Sidon, a few Late Archaic tomb relate to the attribution of specific painted tombs
paintings in Asia Minor (Phrygia, Lydia, and to historical figures (like Philip II of Macedonia
Lycia), the famous Tomb of the Diver (del in Vergina) and/or famous Greek painters (such
Tuffatore) in the Greek colony of Poseidonia/ as Nikias and Nikomachos); the origin of land-
Paestum in southern Italy (ca. 480 ..), a consid- scape and still-life painting; the phenomenon of
erable number of painted Macedonian tombs a cultural and artistic “koine,” especially in the
from the second half of the fourth century and Early Hellenistic Period; and the analysis of col-
the third century, the paintings on the Etruscan ors and pigments with the help of new scientific
Amazon Sarcophagus from Tarquinia (third quar- methods and special photographic techniques,
ter of the fourth century), probably the work which have been applied not only to wall paint-
of a painter from Magna Graecia—possibly ings but also to Greek sculptures and reliefs.
Tarentum—and numerous, mostly fragmentary These new methods have virtually revolutionized
wall paintings from the fourth to second cen- our knowledge of antique polychromy.
turies .. in Greek houses and palaces (in By far the oldest known tomb paintings in
Athens, Pella, Vergina, Delos, Cnidus, and the Mediterranean region are from Egypt, dating
Pergamon). In addition, we have a number of from the third and second millennia ..; the
other archaeological artifacts that help us to cultures of the ancient Near East have left us con-
reconstruct the history of Greek painting, above siderably fewer. It was only during the first mil-
all of the lost pinakes, including Greek and south- lennium .. that tomb painting became more
ern Italian vase paintings, especially those exe- widespread in various largely peripheral cultures
cuted in polychrome on a white ground; Greek and regions around the Mediterranean: Asia
and Roman pebble and tessera mosaics; incised Minor (mainly Phrygia, Lydia, and Lycia), the
drawings on Etruscan and central Italian bronze Crimea in southern Russia, Thrace, Macedonia,
mirrors and cistae; and finally the many Roman- Alexandria, Etruria (primarily southern Etruria,
Pompeian wall paintings that often copied Greek with its leading center Tarquinia), central Italy
paintings or at least borrowed specific elements (Rome and Samnium), and southern Italy
and motifs from Greek models. With them we are (Apulia, Campania, and Lucania). Because the
almost able to reconstruct a few of the more local people used different types of tombs and
famous Greek paintings. Moreover, certain sub- different funerary customs, there are almost no
jects, motifs, stylistic features, and techniques tomb paintings in Greece itself; there wall paint-
employed in Greek painting are found in wall ing was apparently mainly limited to sacred and
paintings—generally in tombs—in other cultural public structures. The tomb paintings in the
regions, such as Thrace, southern Italy, and of regions mentioned are mainly found in chamber
course Etruria. A number of the prominent tombs, often imitating the shapes of houses, but
Renaissance painters, notably Sandro Botticelli they are also documented in small half-chamber,
and Andrea Mantegna, were well aware of the stone chest (cassone), and sarcophagus tombs.
accomplishments of the famous Greek painters Painted grave steles from Macedonia, Thessaly,
and were often inspired by the Greek masters in Alexandria, Apulia, and Lucania tend to date from
their choice of subject matter. Early Hellenistic times. Decoration of houses and
INTRODUCTION 11
Chronological distribution map of painted tombs palaces with wall paintings and mosaics became time an antiquarian and restorer, among other
in Etruria more common beginning in the fourth century things of Greek and Etruscan vases. Other drafts-
.., as we see from examples in Macedonia, men like Nicola Ortis, Giuseppe Angelelli,
Pergamon, Delos, Apulia, Campania, and Sicily. Gregorio Mariani, and Louis Schulz helped to
document newly discovered tomb paintings in the
From the Renaissance to 2000 following decades. Gottfried Semper, the famous
But let us return to Etruscan tomb painting. As architect of the Dresden Opera, also made copies
early as the fifth century we find mention of sub- of Tarquinian tomb paintings. Other patrons of
terranean chambers with wall paintings and such work were the Vatican, for its Museo
inscriptions in the writings of the well-known Gregoriano Etrusco, and the Bavarian crown
cleric and scholar Annio da Viterbo and a mem- prince Ludwig I—a philhellene primarily—who
ber of the noble Vitelleschi family of Tarquinia. visited Tarquinia and its painted tombs in 1834
In a sketch by Michelangelo there is a bearded and commissioned the use of their decorations in
head with a wolf ’s cap that clearly recalls the head Leo von Klenze’s new Pinakothek in Munich. Our
of Aita/Hades, the god of the underworld, in detailed knowledge of these tomb paintings, many
Tarquinia’s Tomb of Orcus (dell’Orco) II. A num- of which have since been lost or destroyed or have
ber of depictions of hell in late medieval and faded badly, comes mainly from these drawings
Renaissance painting also lead us to suspect that and watercolors, especially the nineteenth-
some Etruscan tomb paintings were known even century lucidi still for the most part preserved in
before the first documented discoveries. The great the archives of the German Archaeological
period of discovery and the development of a ver- Institute in Rome. In the late 1980s and early
itable Etruscan frenzy started only in the second 1990s, these were made known to a broader public
half of the eighteenth century. It was mainly asso- in a traveling exhibition, accompanied by a beau-
ciated with the activities of the Scottish antiquar- tiful catalogue, in Italy, Germany, Austria, and
ian, art dealer, and architect James Byres and his Switzerland. In the fall of 2000 a selection of them
Polish draftsman, Franciszek Smuglewicz, to was sent to Japan and exhibited in the Tokyo exhi-
whom we owe the compendium Hypogaei or bition “Investing in the Afterlife.” H. Blanck and
Sepulchral Caverns of Tarquinia, published belat- C. Weber-Lehmann are above all responsible for
edly in London in 1842 and richly illustrated with the rediscovery, critical winnowing, and publica-
engravings—needless to say in part reflecting the tion of these documents, which are so extremely
spirit and taste of Romanticism. valuable to scholarship. These lucidi are naturally
Interest in the painted Etruscan hypogea more reliable and more faithful in their details
became still more intense in the first half of the than the color facsimiles or watercolors produced
nineteenth century, especially on the part of the from them, which are often infused with a neo-
so-called Hyperboreans, a circle of German and classical sensibility. Other institutions, notably the
Scandinavian scholars who in 1829 founded the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen and the
Instituto Archeologico di Corrispondenza— Swedish Institute in Rome, preserve watercolors
precursor of the present-day German and drawings of Etruscan tomb paintings from
Archaeological Institute in Rome—on the the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Capitoline Hill in Rome. Among them were The Copenhagen collection, created between
E. Gerhard, A. Kestner, and O. M. von Stackelberg, 1895 and 1913 by Carl Jacobsen, documents a
who were especially enraptured with newly dis- total of twenty-three tombs from Tarquinia,
covered tombs in the Monterozzi necropolis of two from Chiusi, and one each from Orvieto,
Tarquinia; their paintings were copied by drafts- Veii, and Vulci.
men and painters, most notably Carlo Ruspi, with In the 1850s three magnificent painted
the aid of lucidi: in-situ tracings of tomb paint- hypogea came to light outside Tarquinia, namely
ings on translucent paper. These copies were then the two Golini tombs near Orvieto and the
published in the Bullettino dell’Instituto, the François Tomb in Vulci. In the 1860s and 1870s,
Annali dell’Instituto, and the Monumenti inediti. large landowners in Tarquinia like the Bruschi
At that time, photography had not yet been and Marzi excavated other painted tombs in their
invented. Ruspi, a Roman who liked to refer to domains. The long period between the 1880s and
himself as an “artista-archeologo,” was at the same the 1950s saw relatively few new discoveries, but
12 INTRODUCTION
N Chianti ⴛArezzo
Volterra
ⴛ Elsa
Siena
ⴛ
cina
Chianti
Ce ⴛ Cortona
Murlo
ⴛ Lake Trasimeno
ⴛ
Perugia
Conti
Metalliferi
Chiusi
Massetano
Sarteano
Populonia
Orcia
Monte
Monte Cetona
Vetulonia Amiata
ⴛ
Roselle
ⴛ
Chianti
ⴛTodi
e
on
Orvieto
br
m
O
Grotta di Castro
ⴛ
ⴛSaturnia ⴛSovana ⴛBolsena
ⴛPitigliano Lake
Magliano
ⴛPoggio Buco Bolsena
a ⴛ
Talamoneⴛ eg n Castro Grotte S. Stefano
ra
Alb ⴛ
Ne
ⴛ Bomarzo
Marsiliana Ferentoⴛ
Fiora
ⴛAcquarossa ⴛ
Legends: Orbetello Tuscania Orte
ⴛ Vulci ⴛViterbo
Cosa ⴛ
● = 670–580 ..
Monte Castel d’Asso
▲ = 580–530 ..
Argentario Norchia Lake
◆ = 530–490 ..
ⴛ Vico
■ = 490–450 .. Falerii
● = 450–400 .. ⴛ
▲ = 400–350 .. Tarquinia Blera S. Giuliano Monte
Luni Nepi Soratte
◆ = 350–250 .. ⴛ ⴛ
■ = 250–200 ..
ⴛⴛ Sutri ⴛNarce
ⴛ S. Giovenale
ⴛ
Capena
ⴛ = ancient site Monti Lake
della Tolfa Bracciano Lake
= ancient site with tomb painting(s) Martignano
●▲◆■ = 1 tomb Veio

●▲◆■ Pyrgi
ⴛ Cerveteri
Tevere
●▲◆■ = 2–3 tombs

●▲◆■
●▲◆ ■ = 4–10 tombs
●▲◆■ ⴛRome
●▲◆■ = more than 10 tombs
●▲◆■
INTRODUCTION 13
during this time a wealth of important scholarly painting—by Alessandro Naso, with brief outline
publications were produced, most notably those texts and about fifty color illustrations—was pub-
by L. Dasti, F. Weege, V. Poulsen, F. Messerschmidt, lished in April 2005, by L’Erma di Bretschneider
R. Bianchi Bandinelli, and M. Pallottino, the of Rome, under the title La pittura etrusca:
founder of modern Etruscology, who with his Guida breve.
Etruscan Painting of 1952 presented a first true
history of Etruscan painting. Tarquinia
A whole new chapter in the discovery of Tarquinia and its Etruscan tomb paintings have
Tarquinian tomb painting began in the late 1950s left their mark on poets and writers. Dante men-
when Milan’s Fondazione Lerici began systemati- tions the famous Etruscan city in his Inferno
cally to use the most modern geophysical research (Canto 13): “Non han sì aspri sterpi né sì folti/
methods on Tarquinia’s Monterozzi Hill. This led quelle fiere selvagge, che in odio hanno/ tra
to the excavation of numerous additional cham- Cecina e Corneto i luoghi cólti” (No rougher,
ber tombs with wall paintings, and roughly denser thickets make a refuge/ for the wild beasts
quadrupled the number of known Etruscan tomb that hate the tilled lands/ between the Cècina and
paintings. Cooperation between archaeology, sci- Corneto [R. and J. Hollander, trans.]). In his
ence, and technology proved extremely successful. famous Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London,
Based on this much larger mass of material, sev- 1848), the English writer, scholar, and diplomat
eral seminal publications on Tarquinian and George Dennis sketches a somewhat sobering pic-
Etruscan tomb painting appeared, like that of ture, at least of the yellow-brown, scorched land-
M. Moretti, former superintendent for Southern scape of Tarquinia. The fascination of Tarquinia’s
Tuscany, and the magisterial Catalogo ragionato lively tomb paintings is reflected in the 1920s and
della pittura etrusca, the fruit of a Japanese-Italian- 1930s in the writings of the Englishmen Aldous
German collaboration, edited by S. Steingräber Huxley and D. H. Lawrence. A chapter in the lat-
and published in four languages in 1985, the ter’s Etruscan Places, from 1932, features Tarquinia
“Anno degli Etruschi.” Since that time the corpus and its paintings. Lawrence’s visit to Tarquinia
of known Etruscan tomb paintings has grown and its painted tombs in the spring of 1927 left a
only slightly—I have mentioned a few important deep impression on him and helped to solidify his
discoveries above—but it continues to offer a rich mainly positive and enthusiastic image of the
field of activity for scholars of the most varied Etruscans as a race with a lust for life. In one of
interests, as the many publications from the last his poems, the poet Vincenzo Cardarelli, from
twenty years attest. Two ongoing projects, one Tarquinia, provided a lasting monument to the
sponsored by the Istituto di Studi Etruschi in lovely “Velia” in the Tomb of Orcus I, which was
Florence and the other being carried out by discovered near Tarquinia’s modern cemetery in
C. Weber-Lehmann are endeavoring to document 1868: “Alto su rupe, battuto dai venti, un cimitero
the body of Etruscan tomb paintings with new frondeggia: cristiana oasi nel Tartaro etrusco. Là
tracings, with the particular aim of making more sotto è la fanciulla billisma dei Velcha, che vive
visible details that are otherwise difficult to see. ancora nella tomba dell’Orco” (By the high cliffs,
We should also take advantage of the vastly pummeled by the winds, a cemetery bursts into
improved photographic documentation tech- leaf: Christian oasis in Etruscan Tartarus. There
niques now available, especially to capture the below lies the loveliest maiden of the Velcha, who
most recently restored tomb paintings. Meanwhile lives still in the Tomb of Orcus).
computer technology has taken on the world of Anyone wishing to see original Etruscan
Etruscan painting; the ICAR project, initiated by tomb paintings today must first of all visit
Natasha Lubtchansky, includes a database of Tarquinia, and there see both the extensive
figural images in Etruscan art, including tomb Monterozzi necropolis and the Museo
painting. But further refinements are needed in Archeologico Nazionale in the venerable Late
this sector as well. It would be helpful to include, Gothic–Early Renaissance Palazzo Vitelleschi. It
for example, nonfigural painting, stylistic and is no longer possible for ordinary visitors to get
technical criteria, and links to ancient wall paint- inside the painted chamber tombs. The majority
ing in other geographical and cultural areas. have been protected by steel-framed glass doors,
The most recent book on Etruscan funerary which allow you to see the wall paintings on the
14 INTRODUCTION
back and side walls, but protect them from deteri- ings have been reproduced in ceramic in their
oration, ensuring a constant, controlled micro- original size and with accurate colors, using a
climate (temperature, humidity, etc.) inside the special firing technique. They are guaranteed to
tomb. In the 1950s it was still believed that the withstand fires and earthquakes.
tomb paintings could better be preserved by We now know of approximately 180
removing them from the walls, mounting them Etruscan chamber tombs decorated with wall
on canvas, and housing them in museums; how- paintings, while roughly another 100 tombs have
ever, today’s specialists and restorers, especially only horizontal painted stripes and/or inscrip-
those of the prestigious Istituto Nazionale di tions. Fewer than half of these tombs are still
Restauro in Rome, try to preserve the colorful accessible (many of them only to specialists).
frescoes in situ by means of increasingly sophisti- Roughly 80 percent of these painted tombs are in
cated restoration and preservation techniques. Tarquinia, which became the “capital” of Etruscan
These measures are well described in the section tomb painting by the middle of the sixth century
of the second floor of Tarquinia’s archaeological .. at the latest. According to statistics, roughly
museum that is devoted to Tarquinian tomb 140 tombs with paintings have been registered in
painting. The detached frescoes from six tombs Tarquinia, 14 in Chiusi, 11 in Cerveteri, 3 in Vulci,
are also displayed there, those of the Tombs of the 3 in the environs of Orvieto, 2 each in Veio
Olympic Games, the Bigas, the Triclinium, the (ancient Veii), Blera, Sarteano, Magliano Toscano,
Funerary Bed, the Black Sow, and the Ship (delle and Populonia, and 1 each in Bomarzo, Cosa,
Olimpiadi, delle Bighe, del Triclinio, del Letto Grotte San Stefano, Orte, San Giuliano, and
funebre, della Scrofa nera, and della Nave). Just Tuscania. This does not include the numerous
now the only tomb paintings one can see in South Etruscan, primarily Caeretan tombs with
Chiusi are those of the recently restored Tomb of fragments of architectural and ornamental paint-
the Monkey and Tomb of the Lion (della Scimmia ing from the Orientalizing and Archaic periods
and del Leone). In Orvieto one can marvel at the catalogued by A. Naso. These—for geological rea-
frescoes from the two Golini tombs in the Museo sons among others—are mainly a South Etruscan
Archeologico Nazionale, next to the famous phenomenon, with a clear concentration in
cathedral. They were removed in 1950. The wall Tarquinia, though the oldest tomb paintings,
paintings in the Tomb of the Hescanas, only frag- from the seventh century, are found in Veii and
mentary but recently restored once again, are still Cerveteri. The examples in Veii—including the
to be seen in situ near Porano, south of Orvieto. Tomb of the Ducks (delle Anatre), the oldest
The wall frescoes of Vulci’s famous François Etruscan chamber tomb with figural paintings—
Tomb, which were detached most unprofession- date exclusively from the Orientalizing period, as
ally shortly after their discovery in the 1860s, do the majority in Cerveteri. However, Chiusi’s
continue to be privately owned by the Torlonia tomb paintings date almost exclusively from the
family in Rome (Villa Albani); however, they were first decades of the fifth century, while those of
recently completely restored with financial sup- Orvieto and Vulci belong to the second half of
port from the Hamburg Bucerius-Stiftung and the fourth century. The remaining, largely iso-
were presented to a larger public for the first time lated examples range from the Late Orientalizing
in exhibitions in Hamburg and in Vulci’s Castello. period down to Hellenistic times, those in
A traveling exhibition in the second half of the southern Tuscany falling within the spheres
1980s and early 1990s in Italy, Germany, Austria, of influence of Cerveteri, Tarquinia, or
and Switzerland, mentioned above, provided Volsinii/Orvieto.
exposure to the valuable lucidi and facsimiles of Almost all of Tarquinia’s tombs with wall
Etruscan tomb paintings from the nineteenth painting were hollowed out of the ridge at
century. Now anyone who is unable to visit Monterozzi, southeast of medieval and modern-
Tarquinia and Tuscany can admire almost perfect day Tarquinia (formerly called Corneto), where
copies of Etruscan tomb paintings even in places certain concentrations can be seen in the Calvario
far removed from the originals. In the Otsuka area and the Secondi Archi. It is not possible
Museum in Naruto, on the Japanese island of to determine the horizontal stratigraphy with
Shikoku, for example, the Tomb of the Augurs any certainty. Among the roughly six thousand
(degli Auguri) and other Tarquinian tomb paint- known Tarquinian chamber tombs, only roughly
INTRODUCTION 15
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus I, detail of 2.5 percent are distinguished by wall paintings, hipped roofs, wide columen and cross-girders
the right wall: profile head of the “lovely Velia,” which in itself sheds significant light on the social (such as in the Giglioli Tomb in Tarquinia)—the
second quarter of the fourth century ..
status of their owners. They date from the first expansive Hellenistic hypogea, with their continu-
quarter of the sixth century to the turn from the ous benches, sarcophagi, pilasters, and often
third to the second century .., that is, from coffered ceilings, increasingly diverge from the
the Late Orientalizing to the Middle or High original concept of the tomb as a “house of the
Hellenistic periods. A definite flowering is seen in dead.” Only some paneled ceilings serve to recall
the Late Archaic, in the decades between 530 and the influence of wooden models in royal struc-
490, when roughly a third of all the tomb paint- tures. The sepulchral areas in the Hellenistic
ings were executed. The great majority of Chiusi’s Tomb of the Mercareccia and Tomb of the
tomb paintings also date from the Late and Sub- Charuns (dei Caronti) in Tarquinia are on various
Archaic, that is, the first decades of the fifth cen- levels. The upper chamber of the Tomb of the
tury. A second, much later flowering occurred Mercareccia follows this typology of the “atrium
in the Classical and Early Hellenistic times, displuviatum,” deriving from house architecture
hence mainly in the second half of the fourth and and mentioned in Vitruvius (6.3); this form is also
first half of the third century. Numerous major found in an urn from Chiusi of the Hellenistic
Tarquinian aristocratic tombs fall into this period, period. Architectural elements of some hypogea
as do Vulci’s François Tomb, a few great Caeretan of southern Etruria of the fourth and third cen-
hypogea like the Tomb of the Reliefs (dei Rilievi), turies, mostly found in Cerveteri and Tarquinia,
and the three Orvietan tombs Golini I and II and reflect—intentionally—the type of atrium con-
the Tomb of the Hescanas. sidered to be most important among the private
Essentially, only chamber tombs carved out cult of the senatorial gentes of Rome, to which
of tufa, macco, or sandstone were decorated with several Etruscan families belonged during the
wall paintings. The same is true of the few exam- latter part of that period. The floor plans of the
ples from northern Etruria, where built-up tomb rooms are mostly rectangular and at times almost
structures predominate. As for their architecture, square. The chamber dimensions vary from 4
it is possible to see differences between periods square meters (Tomb of the Dying [del Morente])
and local conventions. The tomb architecture of to 260 square meters (Tomb of the Cardinal). The
Tarquinia is generally not executed with nearly original burial mounds, normally rather small, for
the richness and detail of that found in its neigh- the most part crowned the most ancient cham-
boring metropolis of Cerveteri. This is also bered tombs in Tarquinia. They were largely lev-
mainly a factor of geology, because in Tarquinia eled by intense agricultural work but have been
there is no tufa, but rather macco—a soft calcare- documented by aerial photographs as well as by
ous sandstone. Tarquinia’s chamber tombs from timely digs such as in the area of the Tomb of the
the early sixth century to the beginning of the Panthers (delle Pantere). In the Fondo Scataglini,
fourth century, with their generally well smoothed during the Hellenistic period, a former stone
walls and ceilings, tend to imitate simple house quarry was transformed into a necropolis, with
forms, with rectangular floor plans, hipped roofs, the painted Tomb of the Anina Family at its cen-
and columena. They mostly have only a single ter. There is no proof that the dromoi and tombs
chamber (almost 90 percent), though there are share a common orientation, but positioning
occasionally two-, three- (with a wide anteroom toward the southwest, and therefore facing the
and two chambers at the back), or even four- sea, predominates during the Classical and
chamber tombs with a cruciform ground plan. Archaic periods. From the seventh century until
Examples of these as well as of paneled ceilings the Hellenistic period, inhumation clearly pre-
appear above all in Chiusi. A dromos, or rock- vailed in the Tarquinian tombs (in sarcophagi
carved bench, that widened slightly at the bottom surely made, in part, of perishable materials
leads down to the entrance of the tomb. Rooms such as wood, on beds and benches of stone, in
or lateral niches are extremely rare. Wall loculi hollowed-out fossae). Niches, hollowed out of the
become increasingly common in the fourth cen- walls for burial and cremation, are found in
tury. In some cases they take on the form of important painted tombs such as the Tomb of the
niches. While the concept of the house persists in Lionesses and the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing
typical Hellenistic tombs—with their flat, almost (delle Leonesse and della Caccia e Pesca).
16 INTRODUCTION
Distribution map of the painted tombs in Tarquinia’s Monterozzi necropolis
1. T. 3716 18. T. of the Gorgoneion (1825) 35. T. 3988

2. T. of the Maiden 19. T. of the Whipping (1701) 36. T. 3986
3. T. 3713 20. T. 810 37. T. of the Dead Man
4. T. 3697 21. T. 5517 38. T. of the Typhon
5. T. of the Lotus Flower 22. T. of the Deer Hunt 39. T. 4467
6. T. of the Hunter 23. T. 5512 40. T. 4255
7. T. of the Lionesses 24. T. 1822 41. T. 4260
8. T. 3242 25. T. 5513 42. Querciola T. I
9. T. of the Warrior 26. T. of the Little Flowers 43. T. of the Sculptures
10. T. of Hunting and Fishing 27. Bartoccini T. 44. Maggi T. (5187)
11. T. of the Jugglers (2437) 28. T. 1560 45. T. 4780
12. T. of the Charuns (1868) 29. T. of the Triclinium 46. T. of the Anina Family
13. T. 5636 30. T. of the Bacchantes 47. T. 4912
14. T. 6071 31. T. of the Funerary Bed 48. T. Street Side
15. T. 5591 32. T. of the Leopards 49. T. of the Mercareccia
16. Cardarelli T. 33. T. 4170 50. T. 5039
17. T. 808 34. T. 4021 51. T. of the Garlands
18 INTRODUCTION
52. T. of the Master of the Olympic Games 69. Francesca Giustiniani T. 86. T. of the Red Lions (389)
53. T. of the Shields 70. T. 1000 87. T. of the Skull (300)
54. T. of the Cardinal 71. Giglioli T. (1072) 88. T. of the Cock (3226)
55. T. of Orcus I–III 72. T. 1200 89. T. 2327 (Bertazzoni)
56. T. 5898 73. T. of the Baron 90. T. of the Bigas
57. T. 5892 74. T. 1999 91. T. of the Sea
58. T. 5899 75. T. of the Frontoncino 92. T. 1646
59. T. of the Painted Vases 76. T. 2015 93. T. of the Tritons (2711)
60. T. of the Old Man 77. T. 994 94. T. of the Ship (238)
61. T. 1144 78. T. of the Jade Lions 95. T. of the Antelopes (199)
62. T. 4813 79. T. 356 96. T. of the Olympic Games (53)
63. T. of the Meeting 80. T. 3011 97. T. of the Hut (139)
64. T. of the Mouse (494) 81. T. 3010 98. T. of the Augurs
65. T. of the Dying 82. T. 3098 99. T. of the Pulcinella
66. T. of the Inscriptions 83. T. of the Bulls
67. T. of the Panthers 84. T. of the Pygmies (2957)
68. T. of the Black Sow (578) 85. T. 939
INTRODUCTION 19
The concept of the tomb as a “house of the calcium carbonate, which acts as a fixative for the
dead” was fundamental in Etruria, at least in the colors); and (c) preliminary scribing, dark outline
earlier centuries. The shape of the chamber tomb, drawings, and a richer palette of colors, now
its architectural elements and furnishings, and the including blue and green. These innovations were
majority of its grave goods—notably jewelry and probably stimulated significantly by immigrant
textiles, banqueting vessels, sometimes even the eastern Greek painters and artists. The tombs
remains of food—clearly indicate as much. In this were clearly painted very rapidly and, due to the
the Etruscan mentality, steeped in magic and reli- atmosphere’s high humidity, the walls would
gion, clearly contrasts with that of the Greeks, never completely dry. The outline drawings did
whose more elevated intellectual level is shown not always precisely follow the preparatory
by their own cult of the dead and tomb art, for graffiti, as demonstrated, above all, by photogra-
example Attic grave steles depicting scenes of phy taken with grazing light over the surface.
parting. In Tarquinian tombs from the sixth and Horizontal lines were almost always created using
fifth centuries, architectural elements like archi- taut string dipped in color, as shown by the tell-
traves, gable supports, columena, and bases are tale marks. Circular patterns were traced before-
frequently suggested or particularly emphasized hand with a compass. Over the course of the
in colored paint. In a number of Late Archaic fourth century, a further basic change occurred
Tarquinian tombs, like the Tomb of the Lionesses with the application of a much thicker intonaco
and the Tomb of the Hunter (del Cacciatore), the (up to 3 cm), that could have as many as three
pavilion- or tentlike nature of the tomb is espe- layers (pozzolana at the bottom, siliceous sand
cially emphasized by painted columns or poles. and limestone in the middle, and calcium carbon-
Some Tarquinian tombs of the fourth and ate blended with colors and sand at the top).
third centuries are distinguished also by their Preliminary scribing was reduced or omitted, and
relief decoration (mostly with mythological a still more varied and nuanced palette came into
themes or figures). These are largely no longer use, including a number of blended colors that
preserved. In this category, above all, are the Tomb could produce more subtle plastic effects. The
of Orcus II, the Ceisinie Tomb, the Tomb of the find of a votive gift in Tarquinia’s harbor empo-
Mercareccia, and the Tomb of the Sculptures rium of Gravisca, which was partially populated
(delle Sculture). Impressive remains of a monu- by Greeks, is of the greatest interest in this regard:
mental frieze in bas relief, 145 centimeters high, it contained a collection of pigments that could
are displayed in the Archaeological Museum of indicate the presence of Greek painters. Research
Tarquinia, though we can no longer reconstruct aimed at identifying components of the pigments,
its original burial context. A unique example is the support, the plaster on which the color was
the well known Tomb of the Reliefs (dei Rilievi) laid, and the adhesives used (obtained in part
in Cerveteri: its stucco reliefs, covering walls and from egg white) has recently come to fore. The
pillars, project a strong, assertive energy that young Greek archaeologist Hariclia Brecoulaki’s
evokes the vitality of Etruscan daily life. research in Macedonia, southern Italy (Paestum,
Regarding the painting techniques used in Campania, Puglia), and Etruria is particularly
Etruscan tombs, it is necessary to distinguish noteworthy in this context, as are, for example, the
three different periods. In the Orientalizing tempera paintings on the Amazon Sarcophagus
period, the seventh and early sixth centuries, found in Tarquinia. The pigments were obtained
the pigments—the three basic colors of red, from oxides and ferruginous hydroxides (red and
black, and yellow—were applied directly to the yellow); from limestone or kaolin (white); and
hollowed-out and smoothed stone walls. In the from charcoal or charred bones (black). Only the
Archaic period, however, beginning in the second blue was man-made, made of an artificial mixture
quarter of the sixth century, we see a rudimentary called Egyptian frit. Licia Vlad Borelli has ren-
form of fresco painting, including (a) a thin, dered a major service in the last few decades with
light intonaco (from 1 to 3 mm, possibly lacking her research into Etruscan painting techniques
on the ceiling), made of clay, stone dust (macco in and the preservation of wall paintings.
Tarquinia), and even vegetable fibers and peat; Restoration and preservation techniques
(b) a thin layer of lime paste (it reacts chemically have become much more sophisticated in recent
with the moist backing to form a light coating of decades. It is no longer necessary or even advis-
20 INTRODUCTION
able to detach paintings from their walls, as was and 1439 by order of Cardinal Vitelleschi, is located
done rather barbarically during the nineteenth in the heart of the Old City, whose impressive
century to the François Tomb in Vulci and the medieval structures, above all its churches, clan
Bruschi Tomb in Tarquinia and during the 1950s, towers, and city walls, are themselves worthy of a
though with much more professionalism, to seven tour. Until 1922 the city, called Tarchonion by the
Tarquinian tombs. Restorations using metal Greeks, Tarquinii by the Romans, and probably
braces and mortar (such as cement) are today Tarch(u)na by the Etruscans, was known as
considered obsolete. More modern and above all Corneto. The medieval and modern city rises
less invasive techniques were applied, for example, above a steep hill with a panoramic view of the
to the paintings of the Tomb of the Ducks (delle Tyrrhenian Sea some four miles away. The
Anatre) in Veii; the Tombs of the Monkey, the Etruscan and Roman city, however, stood a mile
Casuccini Hill, and the Lion in Chiusi; to and a half farther inland, on the limestone plateau
Tomb 13 in the Palazzina necropolis at Sarteano; of the Piano della Civita, some 550 feet above sea
and to a painted tomb in Blera. Starting in 1979, level. The plain is bordered on the north by the
numerous tombs were restored (Tombs of the Fosso degli Albucci and on the south by the Fosso
Anina Family, the Augurs, the Bacchantes, the San Savino; these waterways flow into the river
Baron, the Bulls, the Charuns, the Dead Man, the Marta, which connects the coastal region of
Funerary Bed, the Hunter, Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia, by way of Tuscania, with Lake Bolsena,
the Inscriptions, the Jugglers, the Lotus Flower, also called Lacus Tarquiniensis. As the ancient
the Leopards, the Lionesses, the Maiden, the sources tell us, Tarquinia was more thickly wooded
Panthers, the Pulcinella, the Typhon, and the during Etruscan times; today it is widely arid and,
Whipping; the Bruschi, Cardarelli, Giustiniani, above all, characterized by limestone (macco) for-
and Orcus Tombs; and Tomb 5513). They were mations. With a surface area of some 133 hectares,
mainly cleaned and freed of incrustations, in Tarquinia was one of the largest cities in Etruria.
many cases with astonishing results, as with The high plateau over which the city spread is nar-
the Tombs of the Dead Man (del Morto), the rower to the west and wider to the east. It was pop-
Whipping (della Fustigazione), the Leopards ulated continuously, though at different levels of
(dei Leopardi), the Maiden (della Pulcella), the density, from the Villanovian to the late Roman
Giustiniani Tomb, and the Tomb of Orcus I, period. The ridge of the Monterozzi hill, six kilo-
where the colors now appear considerably fresher meters in length, was the main necropolis of
and numerous figures and details once presumed Tarquinia from the seventh century and is tradi-
to be lost are once again visible. Much credit is tionally subdivided mainly into the localities of
due to the restorer Claudio Bettini, now deceased. Calvario, Fondo Scataglini, Primi Archi, Arcatelle,
Other tombs are currently undergoing restora- and Secondi Archi.
tion. Now that the interiors of the tombs are Tarquinia was without doubt among the
closed off to the public, a constant microclimate prominent cities of Etruria and, at least during
can be maintained. With this measure, one can some periods, a sort of cultural and religious cap-
hope that something of these unique paintings ital. There are numerous literary traditions attest-
will remain for future generations. ing to its legendary origins, its history, and its
Tarquinia was and continues to be by far the relationship with Rome. Tarchon, son or brother
most important site for Etruscan tomb paintings. of the Lydian king Tyrrhenus who would have led
As already noted, roughly 80 percent of all known the Tyrrhenians (the Etruscans) from Lydia in
examples are found here. For this reason, it is Asia Minor to their future home in Italy, was
appropriate to take a brief look at its history, thought to be the founder of Tarquinia (and of
topography, and art history at the close of this the league of the Twelve Etruscan cities). Even the
introduction. origin of the disciplina etrusca taught by the “wise
The vast majority of tourists who visit child” Tages, and indeed of the arts of divination
Tarquinia today are drawn by its glorious Etruscan generally, was localized by the ancients in
past, the painted tombs in its Monterozzi necropo- Tarquinia. The royal dynasty of the Tarquinii that
lis, and the rich holdings of its Museo Archeologico reigned in Rome with interruption from the late
Nazionale, once praised by D. H. Lawrence, in the seventh century to the declining sixth century
Palazzo Vitelleschi; the latter, built between 1436 originated in Tarquinia. The first king, Tarquinius
INTRODUCTION 21
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses, Priscus, thought to be son of the Corinthian Tarquinia from 394 to 388, respectively. Tarquinia
detail of the back wall with lioness, aulos player, Damaratos, emigrated to Tarquinia and married was defeated definitively in 281; we have only the
and dancer, ca. 520 ..
a local woman named Tanaquil. According to Roman point of view on this episode, above all
Strabo (5.2.2), the Etruscan kings from Tarquinia the version written by Livy. At the end of the third
were also responsible for introducing into Rome century Tarquinia contributed to the African
various attributes of dominion and power, such as campaign during Scipio’s rule, particularly by
the golden crown, the ivory throne, the scepter supplying linen that was used for the sails of
with eagle, the crimson cape, and the processional Roman battleships. The founding of the maritime
lictors that preceded the sovereign with fasces and colony of Gravisca in 181 .. and the annexation
ax. In the sixth century, Gravisca, the harbor- of the coastal dominions that had already taken
emporium of Tarquinia, saw a marked flourishing place in the third century; the acceptance of some
characterized by a definite cosmopolitan atmos- members of Tarquinian aristocracy into the
phere, from the presence of artists, craftsmen, and Senate of Rome; the concession of the rights of
numerous foreign merchants, above all Eastern Roman citizenship in 90 ..; and the establish-
Greeks (like Sostratus of Aegina, who was also cel- ment of a town hall that also housed a college of
ebrated by Herodotus, and Pakties, possibly min- sixty “haruspices” (diviners) were further steps
ister of the treasury for Croesus, king of Lydia). At toward the definitive Romanization of Tarquinia.
that time, the territory of Tarquinia extended to The decline of Tarquinia’s coastal territory in
Lake Bolsena. A political and economic crisis that later antiquity is also mentioned in Rutilius
arose in the second quarter of the fifth century led Namatianus (De reditu 1.279), who, in 416 ..,
to social and economic disorder in Tarquinia and sailed along the Tyrrhenian coast from Ostia to
other coastal centers of southern Etruria, result- Pisa. In the eighth century, the Civita hill was
ing in the strong erosion of Gravisca’s impor- definitively abandoned and the episcopal seat was
tance. Renewed growth took place, however, after transferred to neighboring Corneto.
constitutional and social reforms during the tran- We are in a substantially better position to
sitional period of the fifth to the fourth centuries, reconstruct Tarquinia’s history today, also from an
which saw the emergence of new gentes and affir- archaeological standpoint, thanks to the numer-
mation of what could be referred to as a middle ous findings and investigations of recent decades.
class. Tarquinia reassumed its leadership role This history begins sometime between the end of
among the cities of southern Etruria and notably the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.
extended its sphere of influence toward the With the transition from the second to the first
interior. This new impetus is above all seen in millennium .., we begin with a concentration of
connection with the known patrician gens of the built-up huts, previously spread out over ample
Spurinna of Tarquinia, whose most famous expo- territory on the Civita hills, and a series of
nent, Velthur, commanded an Etruscan naval necropolises placed around them (Poggi Gallinaro,
contingent in 414–413, defending Athens against Selciatello, Selciatello di Sopra, dell’Impiccato,
Syracuse. The glorious deeds of this gens are cele- della Sorgente, and Quarto degli Archi). Three
brated in the so-called Elogia Tarquinensia, a Latin settlements also took shape on the Monterozzi
text, dating back to the first imperial Roman age, hill, each with its own necropolis (Rose, Arcatelle,
that was found in the vicinity of the Ara della and Villa Falgari). The remains of a Villanovian
Regina. The fourth century and the beginning settlement, later found under a tomb in Calvario
of the third century .. were characterized by on the Monterozzi hill, are particularly instruc-
wars and conflicts between Tarquinia and Rome, tive. This settlement included at least twenty-five
primarily from 358 to 351 and from 312 to 308, huts (with oval, rectangular, or square floor
and were followed by a forty-year truce. Cruel plans). Cremation predominated almost exclu-
episodes were not lacking during those times, as sively in the tombs of the ninth century, mostly
for example the slaughter of Roman prisoners of in biconic urns that were only rarely shaped like
war in the forum of Tarquinia in retaliation for huts. In the most ancient Villanovian period,
the killing of prisoners of war from Tarquinia grave goods do not yet imply great social differ-
in the Roman forum. Tradition has it that the entiation. Some characteristic findings attest to
destruction of the two oppida of Cortuosa and relationships between Tarquinia and Sardinia,
Contenebra occurred in the hinterland of southern Italy, and Sicily. From the end of the
22 INTRODUCTION
ninth century the dead are increasingly interred Tarquinia’s main necropolis. The aristocratic
in tombs. Social stratification becomes more hegemonic class that was clearly beginning to
prominent in the more recent Villanovian period crystallize began to build enormous tumuli with
as the composition of grave goods testifies to chambered tombs and rich grave goods. Some of
the strengthening power of an aristocratic class. the tombs were completely carved out of the
Particularly noteworthy are the Tomb of the native rock, while some were built up on the
Warrior (del Guerriero) and some findings highest elevation of the hill (Doganaccia, Avvolta,
that point to a relationship with the Sardinian Infernaccio, Poggio del Forno, Poggi Gallinaro).
nuraghic culture and with the Greeks, the Near Inscriptions show the successful integration of
East, northeastern Italy, and central Europe of the foreign elements into Etruscan society of the sev-
Hallstatt period. Social stratification accelerated enth century. The Italic writer Numerius, the
in the eighth century when Tarquinia became the Greek Rutilius Namatianus, and the Corinthian
predominant center in Etruria, spurred by the nobleman Damaratos attest to this as well.
presence of Euboean Greek settlers in the Gulf Although it enjoyed renown and wealth,
of Naples (Ischia and Cuma). The Etruscan Tarquinia seems to have relinquished its role as
Tyrrhenian coast was already known—among prominent leader along the coastal territory
the Greeks as well—for the rich metal deposits of southern Etruria, near Cerveteri, during the
of the Tolfa Mountains (iron, lead, copper, and seventh century, above all with regard to the con-
zinc). Production of bronze objects in Tarquinia trol of the rich metal-bearing mines of Tolfa
significantly increased, as is very impressively Mountains. During this time, Tarquinia’s harbor
demonstrated by the richness of grave goods was probably still located at the mouth of the
found in the Tomb of the Warrior, dated in the river Marta, where a rich Orientalizing tomb was
third quarter of the eighth century. Thanks to the unearthed in 1988 in the locality of Piano San
excavations started in the 1980s by Maria Bonghi Nicola. A rich funerary context of the seventh
Jovino, we now know of a sanctuary on the west- century is also found south of Gravisca, in prox-
ern hill in the Civita, near the terrain’s natural imity to the saltworks. Tarquinia probably owed
open fault. It was frequented from the beginning much of its wealth to products that no longer
of the Bronze Age, the tenth century, and had can be attested archaeologically, such as textiles
been the venue for documented human sacrifices. (primarily linen) and foodstuffs. International
During the age of princes (the Orientaliz- commerce, largely with the Greek and Syria-
ing period), settlement concentrated itself on the Phoenician worlds, are evident in numerous
Civita hill, while the Monterozzi hill became imported Greek painted ceramics and Eastern
24 INTRODUCTION
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Baron, center section of the
right wall with encounter scene, ca. 510 ..
luxury goods in silver, gold, ivory, and faience (as half of the sixth century. Numerous vases
from the Bocchoris Tomb); among the notable imported from Attica have been found in the
curiosities are painted ostrich eggs. Tarquinia was sanctuaries dedicated to Greek cults (for exam-
also one of the first literate cities of Etruria. It is ple, those of Hera, Aphrodite, and Demeter), as
significant that the oldest Etruscan inscription well as in the tombs. The existence of monumen-
known today comes from there: it is etched on a tal buildings on the Civita hill is proved above
Proto-Corinthian goblet, dating back to the tran- all by the architectural terracottas. The origin
sitional period from the eighth to the seventh of the celebrated Ara della Regina also dates
century. The sanctuary previously mentioned, back to the Archaic period, in the first half of
located on the western side of the Civita hill, the sixth century.
underwent a monumentalizing phase during the In the period of crisis, beginning above all
Orientalizing period. Its singular importance for in the second quarter of the fifth century, there is
the city is emphasized by the finding of three a signification reduction of Attic pottery imports,
fragmentary symbols of power and status in the number and quality of the painted tombs
bronze: a shield, an ax, and a curved horn known diminish, and few new public buildings are evi-
as a lituus. denced by their architectural ceramics.
During the Archaic phase of the sixth cen- At the end of the fifth century and into the
tury and the beginning of the fifth century, fourth, revitalization was under way and new,
Tarquinia had a period of prosperity, strikingly impressive activity is noted in public building. For
characterized by urbanization. Among the example, colossal double walls were built around
impressive results were a new urban plan of a the city, measuring about eight kilometers in
Hippodamic nature, the development of Gravisca length, made from blocks of tufo and macco, and
and its harbor emporium, and the spread of the the new monumental building of Ara della Regina
Monterozzi necropolis. The power, wealth, and went up, the largest Etruscan temple overall.
tastes of dominant aristocratic families in While its plan is not well understood, its ruins
Tarquinia are now no longer reflected in the still dominate the walls of the Civita today. The
monumentality of the tombs but, instead, in the discovery of numerous examples of architectural
funerary paintings, a phenomenon that is almost ceramics, not least the celebrated pair of winged
unique to Etruria. Foreign artists and craftsmen, horses from the Ara della Regina, attests to the
above all Eastern Greeks—among them painters fourth-century building boom. Votive writings
and ceramicists—settled in Gravisca, a city that give witness to cults devoted to the divinities
reached its maximum vitality during the second Artumes/Artemide, Suri, Selvans, Culsans, and
INTRODUCTION 25
Thuflthas. Socioeconomic modifications are also masterpiece of Etruscan art, the above-mentioned
reflected in funerary practices, particularly in the winged horses of the Ara della Regina; a series of
great painted hypogea created by a new aristoc- high reliefs of large figures, created in the second
racy (Velcha, Partunu, Curuna, Pulena, Pumpu, half of the fourth century, which originally deco-
Camna, Alvethna, Apatrui, Anina) and, after the rated tomb walls or funerary naiskoi (small tem-
first half of the fourth century, in the active pro- ples); some funerary stele and inscribed pillars
duction of sarcophagi and in the ceramic studios carved in stone of the same period (the Arnth
using the red-figure technique. The decline of Paipnas); the vast production—prevalent in
Tarquinia during the Hellenistic age, particularly Etruria—of stone-carved sarcophagi (mainly in
after the third century, is evident in the cessation nenfro) with the figure of the deceased supine on
of the aristocratic hypogea and funerary painting, the lid or both figurative and ornamental poly-
as well as in a great overall reduction of handi- chrome reliefs on large stone chests, made during
craft production. the periods of the Early and High Hellenism,
Tarquinia was highly regarded among the with branch workshops in outlying areas such as
artistic centers of ancient Etruria, and not solely Tuscania, Norchia, San Giuliano, and Musarna; a
for funerary paintings, a field in which it played a series of vessel decorations mostly using the red-
unique role. Among the significant specialties of figure technique; and votive anatomic ceramics
Tarquinia’s artists and craftsmen are the bronzes of the Hellenistic period. Among numerous vases
of the Villanovian period, such as helmets, found in Tarquinian tombs, imported from
weapons, vases, incense burners, ceramics, and Corinth, Laconia, Ionia, and Attica, the most sig-
bucchero ware; a series of Italo-Geometric pitch- nificant are the first Attic vases using the red-
ers with strong influences from Cuma; Etruscan- figure technique. The Kleophrades Painter,
Corinthian vases; so-called umboni, or small Phintias, the Brygos Painter, Oltos, and the Berlin
bronze shields adorned with three-dimensional Painter were among the masters of this genre.
heads of lions, rams, and Acheloos of the Archaic Tarquinia occupies fourth place, after Vulci,
period, whose function is not well understood Cerveteri, and Orvieto, in the statistical findings
today; the sepulchral stepped slabs, exclusive to of Attic vases in Etruria. All the works of art
Tarquinia, whose figures were created in lime- found in Tarquinia can be admired today, both in
stone and decorated in relief; architectural terra- the local archaeological museum and in numer-
cottas, among which is the most beautiful equine ous other Italian and European museums.
26 INTRODUCTION
The History of Etruscan Wall Painting
Style, Workshops, Chronology, Iconography, and “Ideology”
Several issues and basic problems need to be cleared tombs and historical events and figures are enticing
up before we start discussing the development of but not always convincing. It is incumbent upon us
the various stages of Etruscan art. Chief among to resist the tendency to assign dates that are either
these issues are chronology, tomb furnishings, too early or too late and rather to examine each case
iconography, style, and painting techniques, as well on its own merits.
as “ideology.” Almost none of the Etruscan chamber tombs
A great deal of progress has been made in decorated with wall paintings was found with its
recent years with regard to establishing the chronol- original furnishings intact. However, many tombs
ogy of the Etruscan funerary paintings. However, had not been completely stripped but still con-
while it has been relatively easy to reconstruct the tained at least remnants of the ancient grave
history of painting during the Orientalizing and goods—mostly ceramics—albeit in fragmentary
Archaic periods and during early Hellenistic times, form. Admittedly, for a long time no one gave ade-
there have been persistent problems in dating the quate consideration to these remains, which are
tomb paintings of the Classical and mid- to late often of very poor quality. Many of the numerous
Hellenistic periods. To arrive at more precise dat- painted tombs excavated by the Fondazione Lerici
ing, we need to utilize all available criteria, rather of Tarquinia that were published by Mario Moretti
than relying solely upon iconographic elements and in his volume Nuovi monumenti della pittura
stylistic impressions. Aside from stylistic and icono- etrusca (Milan, 1966) still contained the remains of
graphic criteria, we must take account of sepulchral furnishings. Nonetheless, precise points of reference
architecture, sarcophagi (when present), tomb such as these are not always there to help with the
inscriptions (where applicable), tomb furnishings dating of the wall paintings, particularly because
(if they are extant or can be reconstructed), and many tombs were used over long periods of time,
technique. Comparisons with Greek art, which is or even for successive burials following a hiatus.
generally easier to date, must be put forward with Recent research conducted by Federica Wiel Marin,
caution, because in Etruria—precisely during the concerning vases that are still being discovered in
Classical period—there are often delays in cultural over fifty Etruscan painted tombs, is particularly
transmission. Recent research has contributed noteworthy. Of the ceramics found in the Archaic
greatly to achieving more precise chronology of the tombs, most were Etruscan-Corinthian, Attic red-
late Etruscan tomb paintings of the Hellenistic era. figure and black-figure vessels, Etruscan black-
Not only have we been able to determine the start- figure vases from the workshop of the so-called
ing point of Etruscan funeral painting—that is, the Micali Painter, bucchero ware, cylindrical bucchero
second quarter of the seventh century—but also its ware, and black-glazed decorative vases. In several
end, in the last decades of the third century. Later of the tombs, the furnishings were more ancient
dating, to the second century or even around 100 than the wall frescoes. Often represented in the wall
.., can no longer be maintained today. In addi- paintings themselves were clay vessels (lebetes,
tion, certain difficulties still hamper the dating kraters, amphorae, kylikeia, and kyathoi) or goods
of some tomb paintings of the second half of the in bronze (such as amphorae, kraters, kylikeia, wine
fifth and the first decade of the fourth centuries. cups with embossed decorations, oinochoae, olpae,
Attempts to assert relationships between specific and horn-billed urns) all fashioned after the origi-
INTRODUCTION 27
nal models, either Etruscan or Attic in style. The refined methods and interpreted from different
inspection of numerous painted tombs of the points of view in numerous publications. Italian
Hellenistic period has enabled us to verify impor- scholars have proposed and elaborated upon well-
tant remains of furnishings; this research was thought-out and erudite interpretative prototypes,
conducted mainly by Giovanni Colonna, Lucia including and above all aspects of a religious and
Cavagnaro Vanoni, and Francesca Serra Ridgeway. ritualistic nature. We can ask ourselves, nonetheless,
In recent decades, the rich and diverse if these prototypes really fit the data and sepulchral
Tarquinia, Tomb 5591, view of the back wall and
portions of the side walls with komos circles
iconography of Etruscan art—in vase decorations, customs that are specifically Etruscan or whether
and two heraldic lions in the gable spandrels, sarcophagi, painted urns, and so forth, as well as in they were, instead, oriented more toward Greek
ca. 500/490 .. funerary paintings—has been examined with models. It should not be forgotten that, in contrast
28 INTRODUCTION
to the Greek world, we in Etruria do not have any paintings of the fourth and third centuries, exe-
written sources that can be used to ascertain certain cuted in rich polychrome using a fresco technique
Etruscan beliefs and peculiarities relating to the cult on a centimeters-thick layer of plaster, with a well
of the dead and to its forebears. Decisive also, and planned iconography. The recent restoration of
not to be overlooked, is that the paintings of the several tombs, the use of specialized photographic
Etruscan chamber tombs were not meant to be sub- techniques, specifically targeted observations,
terranean private or public “picture galleries.” The and, above all, chemical-mineralogical analyses
frescoes were not intended for the edification and performed on the painted walls have decidedly
artistic enjoyment of the families and their descen- enriched our knowledge of the colors and pigments
dents. They were—in a symbolic sense—there for and of painting techniques. The change in stylistic
the deceased who were buried in the tomb, and features during the various stages of Etruscan
the iconographic contents of the paintings were painting runs hand-in-hand with the general
selected either by the family or by the deceased fam- evolution of artistic style in Etruria. Not only the
ily member before dying. The tombs, surely, were chronology, but also regional and local criteria need
opened only on specific occasions, such as for new to be taken into consideration. Of major impor-
burials or commemorations, and were visited by tance are comparisons to Greek artistic style and
only a small circle of relatives and clergy. The wall painting, without which the entire evolutionary
frescoes were seen only briefly by the flickering of a arc of Etruscan art would be unthinkable. Numer-
small flame, candelabra, or oil lamp. This contrasts ous new discoveries of original Greek wall and
strongly with southern Etruria’s rupestral tombs, funerary paintings, mostly in Macedonia, also offer
whose expensive facades had a clearly manifest rep- instructive comparisons with Etruscan art. The
resentative nature and were partially modeled after names of almost all the painters and workshops of
temples and the mausoleums of heroion, with Etruria, unlike those of Greece, will remain forever
Asia Minor influences; in such tombs the deceased anonymous, despite recent research that has helped
was, so to speak, publicly exposed, often depicted to identify the hands of several painters and to
in a supine position on a kline, designated in the reconstruct the contexts in which the workshops
inscription, and accompanied by demons, as we see operated.
in the Tomb of the Siren at Sovana, or alternatively During the 1970s, the concept of “funerary
appearing in a frieze relief depicting a procession ideology” gained a lot of currency in Italian
and weapons on the bottom wall of one of the research, and to a lesser extent among German
temple-shaped facades, as in the Doric Tombs in scholars as well. This concept from the first posited
Norchia. The themes of these frescoes were meant a clear intentionality, which was thought be mani-
somehow to evoke permanent memories of the sur- fested in a selection of specific types of tombs,
roundings that were familiar to the deceased and specific iconographic contents, decorative ele-
also to emphasize the need and vital efficacy of the ments, furnishings etc., from the sepulchral envi-
represented funerary rituals. The religious aspects ronment, and to have flowered also in Etruscan
are here more important than the social perspec- funerary painting. Figural motifs and programs
tives. The depictions are often marked by the joy were thus interpreted not only from a merely
of storytelling, evident in the minute mimicry of iconographic and art-historical point of view but
many details, its robust realism, and its penchant just as much from political, social, economic, and
for humorous content, albeit indecent or even religious points of view, with the aim of recon-
obscene: this too in clear contrast to Greek art. structing the respective historical environment. A
During its lengthy history of almost five hun- methodological circumspection is certainly neces-
dred years, Etruscan funerary and wall painting sary, as one can otherwise end up with an inverted
understandably saw profound change, mostly in its procedure in which certain historical and politico-
stylistic profile and painting techniques. Two entire social assumptions are made, to which the images
epoch worlds came and went between its first hum- must then “adapt themselves.” In any case there can
ble beginnings during the first half of the seventh be no doubt that much of the iconographic content
century—when the three basic colors of red, black, of Etruscan painting was seen in the past through
and yellow were applied not onto a plaster backing the lens of an excessive simplification, and that
but directly onto smoothed walls of tufa, with a today it must be reexamined in the light of its con-
rather modest figural repertoire—and the wall spicuous complexity.
INTRODUCTION 29
The Beginnings
The Etrusco-Geometric (or Early Orientalizing) Period
(End of the Eighth Century– ..)
In the beginning of Etruria’s historic epoch at the in the South Etrurian coastal metropolis of Facing page: Grosseto, Museo Archeologico, krater
turn from the eighth to the seventh century, the Cerveteri. This era, also referred to as the Early with lid and geometric painting from Pescia
Etruscans adopted the western Greek alphabet from Orientalizing phase, was of crucial importance for Romana, last quarter of the eighth century ..
Euboean colonists on the Gulf of Naples and subse- Etruria’s history and culture. It saw the urbaniza-
Distribution map of the most important painted
quently learned to read and write (what appears to tion of the most important Etruscan centers as the tombs from the seventh century .. in Cerveteri
be the oldest known Etruscan inscription comes result of synoicism (the union of small towns to (after A. Naso): 1. Sorbo Tumulus; 2. Mengarelli
from Tarquinia). This period saw the rise of a mon- make cities), the development of monumental Tumulus; 3. Tomb of the Ship; 4. Tomb of the
umental tomb architecture with both tumuli and architecture, the introduction of new, mostly Near Painted Animals; 5. Maroi Tomb I; 6. Tomb of the
chamber tombs, and the beginnings of wall paint- Eastern craft techniques such as goldsmithing (fili- Painted Lions; 7. Campana Tomb I; 8. Tomb of
the Dogtooth Frieze; 9. Tomb 50 of the Vecchio
ing in the region’s oldest chamber tombs, especially gree, granulation, pulviscolo) and ivory working, the
Recinto; 10. Tomb of the Via degli Inferi.
THE BEGINNINGS 31
introduction of the potter’s wheel, the invention of Wall paintings first appear in large tumuli
bucchero sottile in imitation of metal (probably in carved out of the rock or built up in the first
Cerveteri workshops shortly before the mid-seventh decades of the seventh century and containing one
century), and the ultimate establishment of an aris- or more chamber tombs, mainly in the necropolises
tocratic elite, kingship, and increasing stratification of Cerveteri and only slightly later in Populonia.
of Etruscan society. It witnessed the establishment Interestingly, at roughly the same time similar
of an Etruscan thalassocracy (maritime supremacy) structures were produced in Asia Minor, especially
in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the systematic exploitation Lydia. Tomb paintings from this early historical
of rich mineral resources—especially metals— period, which is generally referred to as the Early
in Campigliese (near Populonia), the Colline Orientalizing period or—in art history—the
Metalliferi (Metalliferous Hills, north of Vetulonia), Etrusco-Geometric or Italo-Geometric phase, were
and the Monti della Tolfa (between Tarquinia and still purely architectural and ornamental in nature.
Cerveteri), more intensive agriculture (grains, wine, Almost never did they cover the entire surfaces of
oil, etc.), and increasing imports of goods including walls and ceilings, and generally they are very
craft and art objects from the Near East and the poorly preserved, because their basic colors—red,
Greek realm (especially Euboea and its colonies in black, and yellow—were applied directly onto the
southern Italy). Finally, the period was marked by smoothed tufa rather than onto a layer of plaster:
the immigration of Asian and Greek craftsmen and that would come later. They were produced only in
artists (especially to the coastal centers of southern southern Etruria, mainly in the Cerveteri region,
Etruria), the development of Etruscan sculpture and for a long time they received little attention. In
(especially in the Cerveteri area), and the Greek recent decades, however, a number of scholars have
influence taking hold in Etruscan religion, includ- submitted them to careful study, most notably by
ing the introduction of Greek myths. the Italian Etruscologist Alessandro Naso. In partic-
Cerveteri, Tomb of the Dogtooth Frieze: longitu-

AA’
dinal section and ground plan (after A. Naso),
middle to third quarter of the seventh century ..
A’
nero
rosso
giallo
32 THE BEGINNINGS
Cerveteri, Tomb of the Dogtooth Frieze: section of
the right wall with painted dogtooth framing (after
A. Naso), middle to third quarter of the seventh
century ..
Cerveteri, Sorbo Tomb and Tomb of the Dogtooth

Frieze: reconstruction drawings of the painted
columena (after A. Naso), second to third quarter
of the seventh century ..
ular, his 1996 book Architetture dipinte. Decorazioni columns, keystones (mensole), walls, doors and
parietali non figurate nelle tombe a camera dell’ windows, moldings, and benches could all be
Etruria meridionale (VII–V sec. a.C.) has expanded adorned with paintings. The most common
our knowledge of these early paintings and of the ornamental motifs are rhombuses, dogtooth
nonfigural tomb paintings still commonly pro- friezes, herringbone patterns, stripes and fascias,
duced in later periods. Naso was able to discover beams, wall pilasters, center gable supports, faux
and reconstruct the painted decorations in numer- doors similar to Doric-style doors (porta dorica),
ous South Etruscan chamber tombs with the help of windows, frames, and shields. Figural motifs are
such modern photographic techniques as glancing, still quite rare; the only ones that appear are
infrared, and ultraviolet light, because in many predatory cats.
cases they are only barely or not at all visible with The most important tomb paintings in
the naked eye. He was able to identify chamber this early phase are found in Cerveteri and Veii.
tombs with traces of ornamental architectural Tarquinian wall painting would begin to play a
painting from the Orientalizing and Archaic peri- more important role only in the Late Orientalizing
ods in a number of necropolises in southern period. In Cerveteri the Sorbo necropolis and the
Etruria, especially in Cerveteri, but also to a lesser Mengarelli Tomb —both from the second quarter
extent in Canale Monterano, Capodimonte, of the seventh century—are most instructive, and
Castel d’Asso, Castiglione in Teverina, Castro, in Veii the Tomb of the Ducks (Tomba delle Anatre)
Cività Castellana, Cività Vecchia, Grotta Porcina, presents probably the oldest figural depictions in
Grotte de Castro, Grotte San Stefano, Latera, Etruscan tomb painting. In the early Cerveteri
Monte dell’Oro, Monteroni, San Giovenale, San tombs the painted decorations are mainly concen-
Giuliano, Soriano nel Cimino, Tolfa, Trevignano, trated on the ceilings, columens, and doors. In the
Tuscania, Vasanello, Veii, Viterbo, and Vulci. The vestibulum of the Mengarelli Tomb, for example,
smaller settlements and necropolises fell within the ceiling painting imitates the structure of a
the territories of Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci, thatched roof (rhombuses between small beams); in
Volsinii/Orvieto, Falerii, and Veii. Ceiling beams this tomb we also find the first instance of a figural
Following pages: Veii, Tomb of the Ducks: section
and coffers, columen (center roof beams) with element: a predatory cat. In the Sorbo necropolis of the back wall with five stylized ducks marching
their disc-shaped slabs at the ends, gables and the relief columen is painted with triangles, stripes, toward the left, second quarter of the seventh
gable supports, pilasters, pilaster strips (lesenes), and small animal figures in red and black. century ..
THE BEGINNINGS 33
The Tomb of the Ducks, discovered in 1958 in painter of the Tomb of the Ducks was originally a
the Riserva del Bagno area, near Veii, and recently vase painter or one of the first true wall painters is
restored, is the oldest completely painted Etruscan a matter of scholarly debate to this day; the oppos-
chamber tomb that we know of. In its structure— ing opinions are presented by M. A. Rizzo and
hip roof, round-arch door, and bed of stone G. Colonna. In the first half of the seventh century
blocks—it looks much like a tent. It is possible that there were doubtless as yet few commissions for the
such tents or baldachin-like structures were in fact painting of chamber tombs, especially figural paint-
erected for the performance of certain funerary ing, so one would assume that at least some work-
rites before the actual burial. For the painting, only shops were active in both mediums.
the basic colors of red, black, and yellow were used. What we know of early Etruscan painting
The four ceiling surfaces are painted alternately in is based primarily on painted vases, mainly repre-
red and yellow. Above a high base level of red, a sentative of the Italo-Geometric style. These were
frieze of five stripes—black–red–black–yellow– probably first produced in the workshops of
black—runs across the back and right-hand walls. Veii, inspired beginning in the second half of the
The tomb is named after the figural frieze on a yel- eighth century by Greek Geometric painted vases
low ground on the back wall, which presents five imported into Etruria. For a long time these early
highly stylized ducks, mostly in red with black Etruscan vases were virtually ignored, and the
rhomboid internal drawing, striding to the left (in most outstanding examples tend to be known from
Above: Cerveteri, Mengarelli Tomb: detail of the
the direction of the baldachin roof that once spread either the art market or private collections. They
vestibule ceiling painted with a rhombus design
(after A. Naso), second quarter of the seventh
above the tomb bed). These must have had some have been studied by Å. Åkerström and more
century .. symbolic meaning; possibly, as F. Roncalli and oth- recently by M. Martelli and F. Canciani. To judge
ers have proposed, they somehow alluded to the from finds in the necropolises at Veii, the earliest
Below: Cerveteri, Mengarelli Tomb: ground plan, afterlife. Depictions of water birds, the so-called pottery imported from Greece itself (Euboea,
second quarter of the seventh century .. heron (aironi) motif, often appear on the contem- Corinth) and subsequently from the western Greek
porary, Subgeometric vases produced in great num- colonies in southern Italy (Gulf of Naples) appears
bers in the South Etruscan centers, most notably to date from the first half of the eighth century.
Caere and Veii. In many cases these “herons” are A true Etrusco-Geometric style developed only
represented with their heads turned to the back, in during the third quarter of the century, parallel to
a pose that is not only decorative but also recalls the Late Geometric style in Greece.
the Skiapodes (“shadow-footed” monsters) of It is not always easy to distinguish between
Aristophanes. Ducks, generally in rows, were a imported Greek vessels, those produced in Etruria
favored motif in the Etruscan art of this time, one by immigrant Greek craftsmen, and works pro-
found not only in vase painting (notably from Veii, duced by native Etruscan craftsmen. The decora-
Tarquinia, and Bisenzio) but also in small bronze tive repertoire of Etrusco-Geometric pottery from
sculptures, in relief on bronze shields, and on gold the last decades of the eighth century is mainly
fibulae and pectorals. G. Colonna sees distinct Euboean, seen notably on wares from Ischia/
similarities between the painting technique and sil- Pithekoussai and Cumae, and it includes in addi-
houette style of Veii’s Tomb of the Ducks and the tion to various geometric elements a few figural
earliest Greek painting between the end of the ones such as fish, birds, and mammals, only rarely
eighth century and the seventh century. Pliny humans. The oldest workshop in Etruria, which
(Nat. Hist. 35.15–16) calls this style “pictura linearis” produced mainly stands for lebetes (cauldrons), is
or “skiagraphia,” and attributes it to Cleanthes of known to have been in Veii and was probably estab-
Corinth. Corinthian and Sikyonic painters of the lished by immigrant potters of Euboean prove-
second generation were then to paint “sine ullo nance. By the last quarter of the eighth century, it
etiamnum hi colore, iam tamen spargentes lineas appears that Vulci had become the main center for
intus” (“not using any color, but already adding the production of Etrusco-Geometric vases, though
lines here and there”). The remains of grave goods there were also workshops in Tarquinia, Bisenzio,
in the Tomb of the Ducks, consisting of Italo- and Poggio Buco. Corinthian elements were assimi-
Geometric pottery (including an olla with animal lated in addition to the Euboean. Especially typical
friezes) and Middle Proto-Corinthian and impasto of Euboean decoration are rows of concentric cir-
ceramics, suggest that the tomb dates from the sec- cles and metope-like fields that are sometimes
ond quarter of the seventh century. Whether the adorned with stylized birds.
36 THE BEGINNINGS
Vulci’s indebtedness to Euboean precedents is Among the Etrusco-Geometric vases that
most clearly manifested in a large-format lidded have come to light outside of Vulci and Tarquinia,
krater (height 49 cm) from Pescia Romana, on the in Castro, Poggio Buco, Pitigliano, and Sovana, up
Vulcian coast (now in the Museo Archeologico in until the middle of the seventh century the typical
Grosseto). It is the work of the most important shapes are oinochoae (wine jugs) of both the
Euboean vase painter, the Cesnola Painter, or his Cypro-Phoenician and Proto-Corinthian types,
workshop, but it is not clear whether it was footed cups, skyphoi (drinking cups), kyathoi (one-
imported or produced locally. It dates from the last handled cups), and small amphorae with knot han-
quarter of the eighth century and is distinguished dles. The predominant decoration is the “metope
by a linear, largely geometric decoration divided style” of Euboean provenance.
into metope fields. By contrast, the repertoire of At the beginning of the seventh century
other Vulcian workshops employed abundant Tarquinia increasingly supplanted Vulci as a pro-
figural motifs as well, namely horses with and duction center and produced a number of remark-
without riders, deer, and birds. able vase painters, most notably the Bocchoris
The Etrusco-Geometric pottery from Painter, whose vase and decorative forms clearly
Bisenzio, on the west shore of Lake Bolsena, is also reflect a Proto-Corinthian influence. He is named
closely related to that of Vulci. Its predominant after Tarquinia’s Bocchoris Tomb, which in addition
Above: Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia: Italo-
vessel forms are barrel- or bird-shaped askoi to his vases contained a famous small imported
Geometric askos from Bisenzio, last quarter of
(zoomorphic vessel). Tarquinia’s famous Tomb faïence vase bearing the cartouche of the Egyptian
the eighth century ..
of the Warrior (del Guerriero), discovered in the pharaoh Bokenranf = Bocchoris (720–712 ..). It
nineteenth century and dating from the waning was probably in the Bocchoris Painter’s workshop Below: Milan, Civiche Raccolte Archeologiche e
Villanovan epoch, is the earliest site to have con- that the decorative schemes were developed that Numismatiche: Italo-Geometric plate with depic-
tained Etrusco-Geometric vases, largely featuring would have a long success as Subgeometric pottery. tions of “herons” (aironi) from Cerveteri, Tomb 65
Laghetto, first half of the seventh century ..
rows of birds in silhouette. One of Tarquinia’s vase painters in the first half of
THE BEGINNINGS 37
the seventh century was the Palm Painter, whose impasto pottery with white decorations was widely
rows of fish reflect Proto-Corinthian influences and used in the South Etruscan area (Cerveteri, Veii,
whose palm friezes were inspired by Asian designs. Acquarossa) and the Faliscan-Capenatan region
The first full-figure depiction in Etrusco-Geometric (Falerii, Capena), and includes mainly urns, large
1 2
vase painting—apparently mythological (Theseus storage vessels like pithoi (storage jars) and
and Ariadne dancing the Geranos or dance of the amphorae, tableware, ointment jars (balsamaria),
labyrinth on Delos?)—is found on an oinochoe and holmoi (stands). In addition to linear designs
from the early seventh century, and is doubtless the we find, at first still in the Subgeometric style,
3
work of a painter from Euboea or Cumae. mainly zoomorphic friezes (fish, herons) and friezes
Vase painting in Tarquinia soon adopted a of human figures (choros dancers, horsemen). The
less ambitious style, the Subgeometric, one that further development of this genre in the second half
contains both Euboean and Proto-Corinthian sty- of the seventh century will be discussed in the next
4
listic elements. The more vital production centers chapter. A white-on-red roof tile from Acquarossa
were now Cerveteri and Veii, also—in a second (Zone G), decorated with stylized horses and birds
tier—Falerii, Narce, and Capena. In South Etruscan in the Subgeometric style, is comparable in both
pottery it is possible to distinguish two main trends: technique and style.
one is more figural, with scenes that in part draw From the beginning of the seventh century
on mythology; the other is more conventional, on, Cerveteri became increasingly important for
employing a more standardized repertoire, and its vase painting, especially its production of large-
5 mainly includes oinochoae, plates, chalices, ollas, format vessels. Here we can even distinguish
and amphorae. In addition to fish, the Caeretan and between a number of different hands and work-
Veiian examples often feature the “heron” motif. shops, among them the Crane Painter (Pittore
Despite its repetitive character, this pottery was very delle Gru), whose monumental style was mainly
popular and found wide distribution. influenced by Greek-Cycladic precedents. We now
The Etrusco-Geometric style did not end find depictions of other animals besides “herons”
6 7
with the eighth century, but rather persisted as the and fish, including felines, horses (some of them
Subgeometric beyond the middle of the seventh with wings), birds, deer, and griffins, also trees and
Selection of stylized water birds from the Etrusco- century, as we see from vase production in Veii, branches. Motifs like the centaur and the fallen war-
Geometric Period (after A. Naso): 1. Cerveteri,
Tarquinia, Vulci, and above all Cerveteri. In addi- rior are altogether new. The Heptachord Painter
Tomb 2006; 2. Cerveteri, Speranza Tumulus;
tion to Euboean-Cycladic reminiscences, the (Pittore di Eptacordo) was path-breaking in that he
3. Cerveteri, Urna Calabresi; 4. Veii, Tomb of the
Ducks; 5. Veii, Passo della Sibilla; 6. Veii, Cava di
Subgeometric repertoire presents mainly influences was the first to devote himself primarily to human
Pozzolana; 7. Veii, Passo della Sibilla from Proto-Corinthian pottery and its Cumaean figures. His large-format scenes are narrative in
variants. In the Vulci and Tarquinia area the nature, like the acrobatic dance accompanied by
Facing page: Cerveteri, Museo Archeologico: “metope style” predominates, whereas in the a kithara player on an amphora in Würzburg or
biconical krater with stylized animals by the Cerviteri-Veii region we find mostly vases with the couple on a biconical krater in Cerveteri. The
Heptachord Painter, from Cerveteri, second
schematic, silhouetted herons and fish. Such vases mythological, epic quality of these highly expressive
quarter of the seventh century ..
were exported in considerable quantities, to the scenes in the Subgeometric style doubtless derives
Faliscan Capena region but also outside Etruria, from Greece, especially the Greek islands. The
to Latium, southern Campania (Pontecagnano), Etruscans clearly owed their familiarity with Greek
and southeast Sicily (Gela, Syracuse, Eloro). The legends to the presence at this time of Greek mer-
popular herons—a contamination deriving from chants and craftsmen in the South Etruscan coastal
Villanovian traditions and Greco-Geometric centers, especially Caere. Scenes with ships and
designs of Euboean-Cycladic and Corinthian huge fish also become increasingly common. By
provenance—are found in dark red on light-ground contrast, contemporary Subgeometric vases from
vases, in white on red-ground impasto vessels and the workshops of Veii—considerably more modest
red roof tiles in Acquarossa, and incised on impasto in quality—tend to feature zoomorphic elements
vessels and the oldest bucchero vases. like fish, herons, and horses in silhouette.
The so-called “white-on-red” genre just men- Beginning in the mid-seventh century, the
tioned, which was developed in the first half of the (Sub-) Geometric style increasingly gave way to a
seventh century and has been extensively published type of decoration featuring botanical motifs, one
by M. Micozzi, forms an isolated class, even with that was primarily influenced by Near Eastern art.
regard to technique. This typically red-ground We will discuss this further in the next chapter.
38 THE BEGINNINGS
Asian and Corinthian Influences
The Orientalizing Period (– ..)
The advanced middle and later Orientalizing increasingly common. The large princely tombs Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Panthers:
period was chiefly marked by Asian and that begin to appear in the second quarter of the detail of the back wall with profile head of a
panther, around 600 .. or shortly thereafter.
Corinthian influences. It was in this period seventh century in the north (Populonia, Vetulonia,
that Etruscan tomb painting experienced a Marsiliana d’Albegna, Casal Marittimo, Artimino,
first flowering, though vase painting continues Quinto Fiorentino, Castellina in Chianti, Cortona,
to be our chief source of information about Chiusi) and the south (Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci,
the development of Etruscan painting. Veii, Palestrina), with their frequently exorbitant
In general, the cultural changes described quantities of valuable grave goods, attest to the
in the first chapter in relation to the previous wealth of leading Etruscan families in this “age of
Etrusco-Geometric period only became more fully the princes.” Gold and silver vessels, ivory combs,
entrenched. Urbanization, for example, continued gold jewelry and objects made of amber, faïence
with the building of city walls (present from the vessels and figures, scarabs, glass-paste jewelry,
mid-seventh century in Roselle) and monumental large bronze cauldrons, wooden furniture, and
architecture (the first and second palaces at woolen and linen textiles (only very rarely pre-
Murlo-Poggio Civitate, south of Siena), and the served, as in Verucchio in the Romagna), painted
final transition from simple huts, generally ostrich eggs, and decorated Tridacna shells are evi-
oval in form, to solid, rectangular houses (Veii, dence of this aristocratic society’s appetite for lux-
Acquarossa). The Etruscans continued to domi- ury items. Inscriptions from this period (as on the
nate the Tyrrhenian Sea, and traded widely, espe- two cippi from Rubiera, near Reggio Emilia) docu-
cially with Asia and the Greek world. This period ment how this taste for luxuries is affecting the
saw the introduction of hoplite tactics in warfare, first magistracies.
further exploitation of the region’s rich mineral Of decisive importance in the realm of
deposits, and increasing imports of Asian, architecture was the introduction in the mid-
Egyptian, and Greek wares (particularly Proto- seventh century or shortly afterward of new roof
Corinthian and Corinthian vases) and even true forms, with tiles and white-on-red painted archi-
luxury articles—what the Greeks referred to as tectural terracottas, as seen in Murlo (first palace)
athyrmata—in gold, silver, electron, bronze, ivory, and Acquarossa (Zone G). This important
faïence, and glass paste. It also saw the immigra- innovation—adopted from Greek, probably
tion of artists and craftsmen from Asia (mainly mainly Corinthian, architecture—is associated by
from the area of Syria and Phoenicia) and Greece Pliny (Nat. Hist. 35.16, 35.151–52) with the arrival in
(primarily Corinth and eastern Greece). Etruria Tarquinia in around 650 of the Corinthian noble-
began to export bronzes, bucchero wares, and man Damaratos. Among his company were artists
wine amphorae to other regions of Italy and the and craftsmen (for example, the painter Ekphantos
Mediterranean and developed the arts of large- and three artifices or fictores with the telling names
format sculpture and relief (especially in Cerveteri, Euchir, Eugrammos, and Diopos), who “stand for”
Vulci, and Vetulonia), including grave steles the three mediums sculpture (coroplasty), paint-
(Vetulonia and Emilia-Romagna) and so-called ing, and architecture. Such Corinthian artists and
stepped slabs (Tarquinia). Greek iconography, craftsmen, especially the “plastae laudatissimi . . .
especially mythological subject matter, became iidem pictores” (“highly praised modelers . . . also
ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 41

painters,” Pliny Nat. Hist. 35.154), surely worked our present knowledge—than in Veii and Cerveteri.
mainly for the Etruscan aristocracy, ornamenting The few traces of wall painting in the well-known
the exteriors of their houses with painted terracot- Montagnola Tomb (Tomba della Montagnola), a
tas and the interiors with wall paintings or the constructed tholos tomb from the Late Orientaliz-
“pinakes leleukomenoi” (whitened tablets). In fact, ing period in Quinto Fiorentino, west of Florence,
a strong Corinthian influence can be seen in constitute a distinct exception. Because Etruria’s
Etruria shortly after the middle of the seventh cen- aristocratic houses were built of perishable materi-
tury. Pliny (Nat. Hist. 35.17–18) tells of the als (wood, mud bricks, etc.), nothing has survived
perfection achieved in the art of painting in this of wall paintings that may have adorned the resi-
period in Italy as well. To him there were three dences of the aristocracy, like the palace in Murlo-
aspects to such “perfection”: outline (“umbra . . . Poggio Civitate.
lineis circumducta”), interior drawing For a comprehensive understanding of
(“spargentes lineas intus”), and homogeneous Etruscan tomb painting from the Orientalizing
color groundings (“primus inlevit eas colore”). period, we are indebted to the work of G. Bovini,
These had been mastered by the painting schools and more recently to that of G. Colonna, A. Naso,
in Corinth and Sikyon on the Peloponnese. Pliny and the author.
goes on to relate that he had admired very old In this period, too, pigments—generally
paintings that antedated the founding of Rome only red, black, yellow, and white—were applied
(“antiquiores urbe”)—surely an exaggeration— directly to the smoothed stone walls. This is the
in Ardea and Lanuvium (southern Latium), and main reason why the paintings are often so
in Etruscan Caere. He praises their perfection and poorly preserved, with little or nothing still
their technique and indicates that the paintings visible, forcing us to rely on old photographs,
in Lanuvium presented mythological content drawings and/or watercolors, and at times only
in fresco technique. Aside from the Euboeans, summary descriptions. Welcome exceptions are
those introducing Asian and Greek cultural and the two Late Orientalizing tombs at Magliano
artistic innovations and ideas into Etruria in the Toscano and Tarquinia. The paintings—generally
Orientalizing period were mainly Asians from the more like colored drawings—are distinguished
Syrian-Phoenician region, Corinthians, eastern by a largely unrealistic but vivid and at times
Greeks, and colonial Greeks from southern Italy expressive coloring. The outlines of the individ-
and Sicily. The large Etruscan coastal centers, ual motifs were first scored, then traced in black
mainly in the south, were most exposed to such or brown. The paintings consist mainly of small-
influences, but with a certain time lag they pene- format friezes, often limited to a single wall, but
trated even interior and northern Etruria by the especially in the Late Orientalizing phase there
Late Orientalizing period. The Etruscan aristoc- are a few more complex compositions, some
racy’s adoption of Asian culture, with its dynastic divided into picture panels and some in larger
models, palaces (as on Cyprus, in northern Syria, format (nearly life-size). In multichamber tombs
and western Anatolia), triclinia for banquets, and the painted decorations are generally concen-
monumental tombs, was in part a way of demon- trated in a single room. Most often it is the archi-
strating its status. tectural elements—ceilings, columen, ceiling
As in the preceding Etrusco-Geometric beams and coffers (lacunaria), gable supports,
period, tomb painting, now more widespread door frames, pilasters and pilaster strips—as well
but still extremely rare, was concentrated in south- as couches and stone baskets that are adorned
ern Etruria, notably Cerveteri and Veii. Other with painting, as A. Naso illustrates in his semi-
sites in southern Etruria were Tarquinia and San nal study of “pittura architettonica.” A fine exam-
Giuliano, and in interior and northern Etruria ple is the Tomb of the Dogtooth Frieze (dei Denti
the cities of Chiusi, Magliano Toscano, and Cosa. di Lupo) in Cerveteri (ca. 630/20), to which Naso
Cerveteri definitely took the lead in this period. has devoted a separate monograph. In Tomb
Interestingly, though Tarquinia would later Porzarago 9 in San Giovenale, painting is used to
become the “capital” of Etruscan tomb painting, emphasize the gable support. Most tomb paint-
chamber tombs there were first adorned with wall ings of this period are relatively easy to date, in
paintings only in the Late Orientalizing period; part thanks to a profusion of grave goods, mostly
that is considerably later—at least to the best of pottery, both Etruscan and imported.
42 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

The painting repertoire is still limited: in ored squares and a depiction of a ship are excep-
addition to architectural elements, we see mainly tions. All in all, compositions of a purely additive
botanical motifs and stylized, eclectic animals and nature predominate. Only in the Campana Tomb in
fabulous creatures. Animal friezes predominantly Veii, on the back wall of the front chamber, do we
show rows of striding beasts—both ordinary and find animals, fantastic creatures, human figures,
fabulous—or animals in combat. We find winged and botanical ornaments blended into a “linguaggio
lions and panthers, other great cats, deer, goats, fantastico,” a pictorial unity.
hounds, serpents, and dolphins. Among the fabu- Many of the motifs that appear in tomb
lous beasts are sphinxes, griffins, and winged and painting are familiar to us not only from vase
bearded centaurs. Human figures like striding men, painting but also from other Etruscan arts from
horsemen, archers, some on horseback, and the the Orientalizing period, for example bronze stat-
potnios theron (Lord of Beasts) between two ram- uettes and reliefs (especially repoussé bronze
pant lions are still relatively rare. The chief botan- shields), gold jewelry (pectorals and fibulae),
ical ornaments are palmettes, lotus blossoms, ivories (pyxides), impasto and bucchero (incised
rosettes, and volutes. In addition we find comb and drawings), painted ostrich eggs, painted impasto
herringbone patterns, dogtooth friezes, and simple urns and roof tiles, and pithos reliefs. Most are
stripes. Shields with concentric circles of small col- originally Asian motifs adopted in Etruria—with
Selection of palmette motifs from the Orientalizing

Period (after A. Naso):
1. Tomb of the Painted Animals (Cerveteri)
2. Tomb of the Painted Lions (Cerveteri)
3–4. Ceiling of the Cima Tomb (San Giuliano)
5. Wall of the Cima Tomb (San Giuliano)
6–8. Wall of the Campana Tomb (Veii)
9. Impasto “white-on-red” pyxis from the Züst
1 2 3 4 5
Collection
10. Impasto “white-on-red” pyxis, Louvre D 151
11. Repoussé bronzes from the Barberini Tomb
(Praeneste)
12. Repoussé bronzes from the Regolini Galassi
Tomb (Cerveteri)
13–14. Bucchero reliefs
15–18. Bucchero incisings
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18

Rome, Capitoline Museums: Aristonothos Krater corresponding modifications—by way of Corinth. painting but also in vase painting, notably that of
from Cerveteri with sea battle, middle of the Motifs like the centaur and the chimaera are the Bearded Sphinx Painter. At this same time,
seventh century ..
Greek. Typically Etruscan are the great cats or fan- such predatory and hybrid beasts of largely Asian
tastic creatures with human limbs in their maws, provenance appear for the first time in large sculp-
familiar from incised drawings on bucchero sottile tures as guardians placed in front of tombs in
vessels. Lions, which appear frequently, are of two Cerveteri and Veii (and somewhat later in Vulci).
main types. The first comes from Assyria and They probably symbolize the inevitability and uni-
northern Syria and is distinguished by the flame versality of death. The especially interesting motif
pattern on its back. It appears first and most fre- of the potnios or despotes theron and his female
quently in Cerveteri, but in the later phase in Veii’s counterpart, the potnia theron, had been known in
Campana Tomb as well. The second, somewhat Mesopotamia since the third millennium .., and
simpler type, with vertical stripes on its back, is later in Cretan art; it then found its way to Etruria,
also mainly documented in Cerveteri, for example, especially Caere, most likely by way of Cypro-
in the wall paintings of the Tomb of the Painted Phoenician bronze cups with such depictions,
Animals (degli Animali Dipinti) and the Tomb of which were widely exported in the seventh cen-
the Painted Lions (dei Leoni Dipinti). The motif tury. The potnios and potnia theron were originally
of the sphinx, originally Egyptian and Asian and depicted in a warlike or triumphant pose, but in
also taken over by the Greeks, is found in the Etruria in the second half of the seventh century
Orientalizing period not only in Etruscan tomb they are simply placed between two peaceful ram-

pant or standing lions, with a more decorative quality in the Tomb of the Hunter (del Cacciatore)
effect. In the context of the tomb they were appar- and in the potnios theron depiction of the Stefani
ently meant to symbolize triumph over death. Tomb, which is no longer accessible.
Certain motifs from Late Orientalizing Etruscan In the advanced Orientalizing period there
tomb painting would be used again in consider- continued to be close connections between wall
ably later Tarquinian tombs from the Late Archaic painting and vase painting. This period saw the Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia; oinochoe from Vulci
period, as for example in the colorful, deliberately production of Etrusco-Corinthian vases in the by the Swallow Painter with animal friezes and
old-fashioned animal frieze with an almost textile large South Etrurian centers, a genre inspired by lotus-blossom frieze, ca. 620 ..

voluminous imports of Corinthian pottery; for Etruscan painting, one must recall the Corinthian
our knowledge we are particularly indebted to the painter Ekphantos, who found his way to Etruria
intensive studies and valuable publications of the in the train of Damaratos. Whereas the botanical
Hungarian Etruscologist J.-G. Szilagyi. In this and ornamental decor of these vases is essentially
period it is easier to document the presence of Asian, their figural and narrative scenes betray a
Greek vase painters and painting workshops in predominantly Greek influence. One thinks, for
the southern Etruscan coastal centers; in some example, of an amphora by the Amsterdam Painter
cases we even know their names. The famous (in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam)
krater from Cerveteri dating from around 650 in depicting a woman and a three-headed monster—
the Capitoline Museums in Rome is signed by probably Medea and the dragon of Colchis.
Aristonothos, an immigrant Greek. On one side is Production of Etrusco-Corinthian vases
a scene from Homer’s Odyssey, namely the blind- began in southern Etruria around 630, and these
ing of Polyphemus, and on the other a sea battle vessels would soon dominate the market. They con-
between Greek and Etruscan warships, which tinued to be produced until the middle of the sixth
apparently refers to a historical event in the strug- century. Examples of this production, not always
gle for dominance in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This especially valuable, number in the thousands, and
Greek master craftsman incorporates various continuing finds and excavations constantly bring
artistic influences and traditions (Attic, insular new ones to light. These vases—especially the ones
Greek, Chalcidic) and is distinguished by a power- made in Vulci—were exported to Campania, Sicily,
ful, monumental style that emphasizes figures. Sardinia, southern France, eastern Spain, Carthage,
Selection of lion depictions from the Orientalizing Along with “Rutile Hipukrate,” an Etruscan Greek Cyprus, and the Black Sea region. They were of
period (after A. Naso):
documented by an inscription in Tarquinia, and course largely patterned after the Proto-Corinthian
1. Ostrich egg from the Tomb of “Isis” (Vulci)
the already mentioned Damaratos in Tarquinia and Corinthian vases imported into Etruria in large
2. Silver situla from the Castellani Tomb
(Praeneste)
(Dionysius of Halicarnassus Ant. Rom. 3.46), who quantities from the beginning of the seventh cen-
3. Pyxis in the Louvre, D 151 was driven out of Corinth after the fall of the tury, and especially in mid-century. They also bor-
4. Tomb of the Painted Lions (Cerveteri) Bacchiadae, he represents the successful assimila- rowed features from the pottery of eastern Greece.
tion of Greek (as well as Latin and Italic) ethnic Among the Proto-Corinthian import wares are a
elements into Etruscan society during the Orien- few exceptional pieces like the Chigi Vase from Veii,
talizing period and a considerable amount dating from around 640, with its miniaturist figural
of horizontal mobility within the various social friezes (now in the Museo di Villa Giulia in Rome).
1 classes. Etruria’s close commercial ties with Corinth are
Vase painting in Etruria in the second half underscored not only by such trading activities but
of the seventh century saw a number of innova- also by the presence in Tarquinia of the above-
tions, such as incised preliminary drawings, large mentioned Corinthian aristocrat Damaratos. The
heraldic animal compositions or rows of animals most common vase forms were pouring vessels like
2
including deer, bulls, horses, predatory cats, olpae and oinochoae and unguent vessels like
sphinxes, and griffins, and botanical ornaments aryballoi and alabastrons. The main production
in the form of bands of palmettes and lotus blos- centers were Caere, Veii, and Vulci. Caere special-
soms. Prominent in Cerveteri in this period were ized in large-format amphorae with almost exclu-
the workshops of the urna calabresi (house-shaped sively incised zoomorphic motifs like those of the
urns in red impasto) and the Painter of the Birth “Pittore dei Cappi.” The repertoire included hip-
of Athena (Pittore della Nascita di Minerva), who pocampi and double-bodied panthers as well, but
painted large-format, frequently mythological very few human figures. Because of their richly
scenes, some of them on large pyxides. A typical incised figural decoration of a narrative character,
3
example is his pyxis in the Louvre, which presents the oinochoae from Tragliatella from the last third
two mythological scenes—the birth of Athena and of the seventh century, belonging to the polychrome
the hunt for the Calydonian Boar—and was prob- Caeretan group, are highly interesting exceptions.
ably influenced by the large-format painting from By contrast, the so-called Castellani group, active
Corinth: a painting of the birth of Athena attrib- in Caere and Veii, produced mainly small-format
uted to the Corinthian painter Cleanthes was pre- unguent jars with miniaturist decoration. Promi-
served in a temple in Pisatis (Athenaeus 8.346 nent within this group is the Castellani Painter,
4 b–c). As for the strong Corinthian influence on active in Veii around 630 or 620, who fully exploited

the possibilities of the polychrome technique and Rome, with large-scale but quite crude figures of
whose lively and colorful decorations are reminis- animals and fantastic creatures along with dot
cent of Late Orientalizing wall paintings, such as and discus-shaped rosettes. Only two of the vessels
those in Veii’s Campana Tomb. from this workshop present narrative scenes,
In Vulci, beginning in the second half of the which include hoplites, horsemen, and war chari-
seventh century, the technique of black-figure vase ots and episodes from the myth of Troy. Somewhat
painting based on Corinthian and eastern Greek later the workshops of the Boehlau Painter (with
models becomes increasingly common. Among especially bizarre animal figures), the Pescia
the Greek vase painters who immigrated to Vulci Romana Painter (with hybrid creatures like a lion-
in the later Orientalizing period we can distin- rooster and a two-headed fish), and the Feoli
guish two main personalities: the Swallow Painter Painter operated in Vulci as well. The Feoli Painter
(Pittore delle Rondini) and the Bearded Sphinx became the most successful painter from the sec-
Painter. It has been possible to attribute some ten ond generation of Vulci’s Etrusco-Corinthian vase
vessels to the former, which quite clearly betray painters. In addition to friezes of animals and fab-
his eastern Greek origins and recall the Wild Goat ulous beasts, we find in his repertoire brief narra-
style, popular on the Ionian coast. Especially beau- tive insertions like a man and woman embracing
tiful is a Vulcian oinochoe from the period around and a centaur being attacked by a dog, also a fan-
620 in the Museo di Villa Giulia in Rome, whose tastic Gorgon-Minotaur-like creature. Also of a
light-ground friezes are dominated by grazing distinctly Corinthian orientation in Vulci are the
goats and rosettes of dots. The second master, who Painter of the Polychrome Arches (Pittore degli
in the last third of the seventh century established Archetti Policromi) and the Lotus-Flower and
a very successful workshop in Vulci, had a wholly Phoenician Palmette Groups, which favor a largely
different training and drew inspiration largely botanical decor and scale- and textile-like designs.
from the Corinthian Transitional style. It is possi- In the decades between 630 and 580, large
ble to attribute more than one hundred vessels to anforoni squamati (scale-decorated amphorae)
this workshop, mainly olpae and oinochoae, which dominated the vase production in Cerveteri. At
were also distributed to other Etruscan centers the beginning these were distinguished by a largely
outside of Vulci. Especially characteristic of these zoological repertoire in miniaturist style, but later
works is the animal repertoire, which includes the swimming birds and birds in flight were added.
eponymous bearded sphinx as well as a lion Etrusco-Corinthian workshops and vase painters,
devouring a human leg. The most famous piece among them the Vitelleschi Painter, established
Left: Cerveteri, Tomb of the Painted Lions, right-
comes from Vulci’s Tomb of the Bearded Sphinx themselves only relatively late in Tarquinia. hand dromos chamber: detail of the right wall with
Painter, an almost monumental amphora (82 cm With the third generation of Etrusco- lion frieze (watercolor), third quarter of the
tall) now displayed in the Museo di Villa Giulia in Corinthian vase painters, production once again seventh century ..
Right: Cerveteri, Tomb of the Painted Lions, right-

hand dromos chamber: back wall with “potnios
theron” between lions (watercolor), third quarter of
the seventh century ..

p. 49
Veii, Tomb of the Ducks: section of the back wall with
two stylized ducks marching to the left and striped
frieze, second quarter of the seventh century ..
pp. 50–51
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Panthers: upper part of the
back wall with two heraldic panthers and mask of
a predatory animal, around 600 .. or shortly
thereafter
p. 52 p. 53
Magliano in Toscana, Cancellone area, Tomb of San Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bacchantes: section of the
Andrea: detail of a winged lion in three-color back wall with pair of dancers (possibly the deceased
technique, end of the seventh century .. owners of the tomb), ca. 510/500 ..
pp. 54–55
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Baron: center section of the
back wall with encounter between an aristocratic
woman and an older man with a kylix and a young
aulos player, ca. 510/500 ..
p. 56
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Augurs: section of the
right wall with two wrestlers above bronze lebetes,
ca. 520 ..
Left: San Giuliano, Cima Tomb: reconstruction
drawing of the pair of heraldic panthers on the
back wall of the main chamber (after A. Naso),
third quarter of the seventh century ..
Below: San Giuliano, Cima Tomb: ground plan,

longitudinal section, and cross section of the left-
hand side chamber, third quarter of the seventh
century ..
rose dramatically in order to satisfy the increasing now lost. The contrast between the white figures
demand for highly standardized vessels in various and the strong red ground is striking.
parts of Etruria and beyond. As evidence of this But let us return to tomb painting. In several
true mass production we have the works of the princely tombs in Veii, like the one in Monte
painters of the Olpae Group and the Rosoni Michele and the tumulus of Vaccareccia, the color-
(Large Rosettes) Group, who mainly reverted to ing is still limited to red and yellow wall surfaces. A’
the Middle Corinthian stylistic repertoire. In the A group of princely tombs in Cerveteri, dating
last phase of Etrusco-Corinthian vase production, from the middle and third quarter of the seventh
potters limited themselves for the most part to century, are crowned by large tumuli and charac-
small-format vessels, most notably sculptural terized by rich interior architecture and fragments
unguent jars patterned after Corinthian and east- of wall painting. The back wall above the burial
ern Greek models. Corinthian taste dominated up couch in the right-hand back dromos chamber in
to the end, when in the decades between 560 and the Tomb of the Ship (della Nave) was painted
540 Etrusco-Corinthian production in Etruria with a small sailboat with a tilted mast, which
finally ceased after a full three generations, ending was probably originally part of a narrative sea-
with the production of Caere. scape or harbor scene; it can only be verified today
In the Late Orientalizing phase of the closing with the aid of a watercolor from the beginning
A
seventh century two large amphorae (in the Villa of the twentieth century. Iconographic parallels
Giulia in Rome) are deserving of special attention. are found in Caeretan vase painting, notably the
B
Probably produced in Veii, they were discovered famous Aristonothos Krater from the mid-seventh B’
in 1965 in an intact tomb in Trevignano, on Lake century. It may be that such seascapes were based
Bracciano, at the edge of Veiian territory. On the on mythology—perhaps the Siren episode from
first, the upper frieze depicts a procession with a Homer’s Odyssey, as seen on a white-on-red
bridal pair, along with a biga with driver and other Caeretan amphora in Milan—but this can no
attendant figures. There follows an ibex and a longer be determined. More likely it was either an
griffin devouring a man. The bottom frieze depicts allusion to the deceased’s activity as a maritime
a pair of sphinxes, a panther, a lion devouring a merchant or symbolized his journey across the
AA’
man, birds in flight, and human figures. This sea into the afterlife. One could almost see this
large-figure frieze is enlivened by botanical orna- work as a kind of anticipation of the magnificent
ments with flowers. The monumentality of these seascape with ships in the Tarquinian Tomb of the
figures could be an echo of larger wall painting, Ship from the second half of the fifth century. In
the Tomb of the Painted Animals and the Tomb BB’

of the Painted Lions, discovered in 1834, animal sels with white figures. Like those in numerous
friezes predominate. Here the animals are shown contemporary vase paintings, the figures of ani-
either in simple striding poses or fighting in pairs: mals and fantastic creatures in these Caeretan
perhaps they represent episodes from a hunt. Each tomb paintings show clear influences from Asia,
of the side walls of the right-hand dromos cham- especially Syria and Phoenicia.
ber in the Tomb of the Painted Lions is decorated Caeretan influence is reflected in several
with two striding red-and-white lions with black aristocratic tumulus tombs outside Cerveteri, for
outlines and a palmette-lotus blossom. Originally example the Cima Tomb in San Giuliano, near
this lion frieze probably continued into the other Barbarano Romano (Viterbo Province), and the
chambers. Quite similar lions, with the same long- Tomb of the Sun and the Moon (del Sole e della
haired manes and extended tongues, can be Luna) in Vulci. Originally all their architectural
seen on an Etruscan krater, also probably from elements—ceilings with beams and coffers, inte-
Cerveteri, in the Louvre. The gable of the back rior doors, and wall pilaster strips—were richly
wall is dominated by the motif of the potnios or painted in polychromy. The monumental Cima
despotes theron, originally from the Near East: a Tomb, from the third quarter of the seventh cen-
man who, turning toward the left, grasps two tury, is crowned by a large tumulus. The back wall
flanking lions by their manes. His triumph over of its main burial chamber was moreover deco-
the wild beasts can be interpreted metaphorically rated with a pair of heraldic panthers, of which no
as the triumph of the tomb’s aristocratic owner traces are visible today.
over death. Two stone baskets are painted with The Campana Tomb was discovered in Veii’s
herringbone designs in red and black. In the Monte Michele area in 1842/1843 by the marchese
round vestibule of the Tomb of the Painted Gian Pietro Campana, a well-known collector of
Animals are two animal friezes, one above the Etruscan and Roman antiquities. Justifiably, it is
other. Among other motifs, the upper one depicts the best-known example of a tomb from the Late
a goat fleeing from a lion, two lions attacking a Orientalizing period, shortly before or around
stag, a running archer, and another man. In the 600. It is a monumental, two-chamber tomb, still
main room a sarcophagus intended for a woman is extant, with a wide, open dromos with two side
painted with a lion, a stag (?), and palmettes. On chambers, a built-up facade, and an arch-shaped
the basis of a number of stylistic similarities, the entrance. Upon discovery, it still contained a
wall paintings of these two Caeretan tombs have quantity of grave goods from the end of the sev-
recently been attributed to a vase painter, the enth century and first third of the sixth, including
Painter of the Birth of Athena, already mentioned, Corinthian and Etrusco-Corinthian vases. The
who specialized in large red-ground impasto ves- front chamber held two bodies, the back one three
Above: Cerveteri, Campana Tomb 1: ground plan

and detail drawing of the ceilings and baskets
(after L. Canina), third quarter of the seventh
century ..
Right: Veii, Campana Tomb: painted back wall of

the front chamber with figural and botanical
elements (watercolor after L. Canina), around
600 .. or shortly before

cremation burials. The wall paintings, which con- palmettes, and lotus blossoms—in a “linguaggio Magliano in Toscana, Cancellone area, Tomb of San
stituted the finest cycle in the Orientalizing style, fantastico.” These lush botanical motifs and figural Andrea: detail with winged lion in three-color
technique, end of the seventh century ..
have completely faded since their discovery, so scenes with animals (panther, horse, dog, deer or
that we are forced to rely on early watercolor gazelle), fabulous beasts (sphinx), and human
drawings—mainly those published by Canina. figures were mainly influenced by Corinthian and
Early on, George Dennis recognized their impor- Etrusco-Corinthian vase painting (the workshop
tance and their great age, and the well-known of the Castellani Painters and the two previously
German archaeologist Andreas Rumpf devoted a mentioned large amphorae with monumental
monograph to them in 1915. The back wall of the figures from Trevignano), but the long legs of
forechamber above two burial couches, one on some of the animals, especially the horse with the
either side, was painted with two friezes, one above small rider, are also reminiscent of Cretan archi-
the other. Each of them was subdivided into two tectural sculpture (Prinias, horseman frieze of
panels and painted in a highly colorful (red, black, Temple A) and Cretan vase painting (Arkades).
yellow, and white)—if unrealistic—style, resem- The interpretation of the procession scene in the
bling a tapestry or textile. The panels show human upper right panel, with a horseman and two men
figures, animals, fantastic creatures, and rich on foot, one carrying a double ax, is disputed.
botanical ornamentation—a tangle of volutes, Some have taken it to be a hunting scene—a

Magliano in Toscana, Cancellone area, Tomb of San
Andrea: detail with winged lion in three-color
technique, end of the seventh century ..
favored subject, especially in the second half of lord and are accordingly to be interpreted as an
the sixth century and in the fifth century, as an indication of aristocratic standing. Unfortunately,
indication of aristocratic status. Others see in it the name of the family buried in the Campana
some mythological event, perhaps the return of Tomb is not known.
Hephaistos. Still others interpret it as the tomb’s The Tomb of San Andrea, a two-chamber
aristocratic owner’s journey on horseback, accom- tomb with impressively monumental wall paint-
panied by a lictor, into the underworld, a frequent ings discovered in the Cancellone area near
motif especially in the late period of Etruscan Magliano in Toscana in 1984, also dates from the
tomb painting. This last reading clearly finds Late Orientalizing period, that is, the close of the
greatest acceptance today; the journey into the seventh century. It was recently published by Paola
underworld—often through a natural realm Rendini. A number of striding, almost life-size
inhabited by wild animals and fantastic creatures winged lions (ca. 1.30 m tall) of the Phoenician
with underworld associations—is also docu- type, in the usual three-color scheme of dark red,
mented in the seventh century in reliefs on the black, and ocher-yellow, adorn wall sections of the
ivory cista from Chiusi’s Pania Tomb and on first and second chambers (with a typical partition
Bolognese grave steles like the Zannoni Stele. in front of the back wall that is reminiscent of
The segmented gable is dominated by a dogtooth early Chiusan chamber-tomb architecture). On
design and vines with lotus blossoms, and the either side of the entry wall are a rampant, wing-
door is also surrounded by a dogtooth frame. The less lion and a palmette. The lions are probably
back wall of the back chamber, with a low contin- symbols of death, the palmettes symbols of life
uous bench, was painted with two rows of round after death. On the one hand, these relatively well-
shields, three in each row; these are decorated preserved wall paintings recall roughly contem-
with bright squares in concentric rows and recall porary vase paintings like those of the Bearded
the custom in the first half of the seventh century Sphinx Painter or the Pescia Romana Painter; on
of hanging actual bronze shields in princely the other hand, they resemble the now lost paint-
tombs (as in the famous Regolini Galassi Tomb ings in the Poggio Renzo Tomb at Chiusi and also
at Cerveteri). A similar real shield comes from refer to the Campana Tomb at Veii. Rendini sus-
Verucchio in the Romagna. These surely under- pects that they are the work of a Caeretan painting
score the tomb owner’s rank as an important war- workshop active in the Veii and Chiusi regions.

In 1835 another painted tomb from the Late not clearly separated as they would be after the
Orientalizing period, the “Painted Grotto” (Grotta mid-sixth century. The characteristic decorative
dipinta or Tomba Dei), was discovered in the Le style in three-color technique (black, red, and
Ficaie area, near Magliano. Its figural paintings, white) and with a pattern of dotted circles on the
since destroyed—including a winged centaur, an animals’ coats is reminiscent of contemporary vase
archer on horseback, dolphins, serpents (?), blos- painting, mainly of the Etrusco-Corinthian mold,
soms, and rosettes—were described by G. Dennis. as well as the white-on-red genre. The fearsome
The earliest known painted tomb from large cats in this tomb surely had something to do
Tarquinia is the Tomb of the Panthers (delle with the symbolism of death.
Pantere), discovered in 1968, which also belongs Nothing more survives of Late Orientalizing
to the Late Orientalizing period from the years tomb painting in Chiusi and Cosa. Of the tomb
around 600 or shortly afterward. This single- discovered near Cosa in 1870 we know only that its
chamber tomb is distinguished architecturally by wall paintings were comparable to those in the
a relatively steep hip roof and sepulchral couches Campana Tomb at Veii. Of the paintings in the
on either side, as well as a tumulus with krepis Tomb of the Orientalizing Style (Tomba di Stile
(raised base of stones) that can still be easily rec- Orientalizzante), discovered in 1874 in the Poggio
ognized in situ. Its large-figured, highly stylized Renzo area at Chiusi, not even copies have sur-
paintings are relatively well preserved. A continu- vived. According to descriptions of them, they
ous base zone is bordered at the top by three thin consisted of a typical Late Orientalizing repertoire
lines in black, red, and black. Two rampant felines, with animals (lions and panthers), fantastic crea-
probably panthers, flank the inside of the entry tures (griffins and sphinxes), and botanical orna-
door, and two others in a heraldic scheme—the ments (palmettes and rosettes), all nearly life-size.
left one facing frontally, the right one with his head The monumentality and in part even the motifs of
in profile—dominate the back wall with gable, these paintings recall those of the Tomb of San
their front paws held above the masklike protoma Andrea near Magliano Toscano. In the Pania Tarquinia, Tomb of the Panthers: upper part of the
of another predatory feline. Here the gable and the Tomb, which dates from the period around 600 back wall with two heraldic panthers and mask of a
upper wall surface are still treated as a single panel, and was also discovered in 1874, apparently only predatory animal, 600 .. or shortly before

The First Major Flowering
and the “Ionic Koine”
The Archaic Period (575–480 ..)
The Archaic period was of fundamental impor- in the interior of volcanic southern Etruria;
tance for the history, culture, and art of Etruria. the beginning of monumental religious architec-
This is especially the case in painting, which in the ture, with canonical temple types, especially the
Late Archaic phase—that is, in the second half of templum tuscanicum described five centuries
the sixth century and first decades of the fifth later by Vitruvius; and major Greek influences
century—enjoyed a special flowering and left us on sculpture and vase painting (Late Etrusco-
works that have decisively shaped our general con- Corinthian and black-figure) from Corinth and
cept of Etruscan art. the Peloponnese, Ionia–eastern Greece, and finally
Archaic art first appeared in the seventh mainly from Attica.
century in Greece, where it reached its high point In terms of history, the period saw the culmi-
in the sixth century. Various regions and centers nation and end of Etruscan dominance in Rome,
shared in this development, namely Corinth and the “grande Roma dei Tarqini”; Etruscan expansion
Argos on the Peloponnese, Athens in Attica, and to the south into Campania and to the north into
the Greek-Ionic east, notably Miletus, Didyma, Emilia-Romagna and the Po Valley; and conflicts in
Phocaea, and Samos. Among the outstanding the Tyrrhenian Sea, culminating in the Battle of
achievements of Greek Archaic art are large Alalia between the Caeretans and their Phoenician
sculptures—kouroi and korai—and black-figure allies and the Ionic Phocaeans. Toward the end of
and early red-figure vase painting, especially that of the sixth century numerous smaller centers (like
Attica. The Archaic style was not limited to Greece Murlo and Acquarossa) disappeared as the great
itself, of course, but extended to Greek colonial Etruscan metropolises strengthened and became
territories around the Mediterranean as well as more centralized. A glance at the extensive necrop-
peripheral regions dominated by other peoples and olises at Cerveteri, with their thousands of tombs,
cultures like Etruria, portions of Asia Minor, and suggests that this South Etruscan coastal metropolis
Cyprus, so that it was a phenomenon of interna- must have been one of the most important and
tional scope. It was especially favored in Etruria, in populous cities in the western Mediterranean in the
part owing to the considerable numbers of Greeks, Archaic period. Around 500, and especially in the
especially eastern Greeks, residing in the southern first decades of the fifth century B.C., we see indica- Above: Paris, Louvre: Caeretan Campana plaque
coastal metropolises and harbor towns. tions that the Etruscan coastal centers declined— with two old men in conversation seated on folding
chairs, third quarter of the sixth century ..
This period was marked in Etruria by social the reasons for and consequences of which will be
changes, with a strong trend toward isonomy discussed in the next chapter—resulting in the rise
Facing page: Paris, Louvre: Caeretan Campana
(equality before the law) and the development of of various cities in inland Etruria. plate with scene of a sacrifice at an altar, third
a new middle class, by definitive urbanization of Also in the Archaic period we see the crystal- quarter of the sixth century ..
the larger centers, and by the introduction of new, lization of certain specialties in the realm of art
rational, Hippodamic city plans based on orthogo- and crafts in the most important Etruscan urban
nal systems—one thinks of Marzabotto, also of a centers. Vulci, for example, was known primarily
number of necropolises laid out a few decades ear- for its pottery and vase painting, bronze imple-
lier, like those of Cerveteri and Orvieto. One also ments, and stone tomb sculpture; Cerveteri for
sees a greater variety in tomb architecture and the its tomb architecture, kouroi, and painted clay
development of a distinct rock-tomb architecture plaques; Tarquinia for its tomb painting; Veii for
THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 63

the kouroi that adorned famous temples there end of the sixth century and in the early fifth cen-
and in Rome, some of which are attributed to tury, Attic conventions prevailed. In the transmis-
the famous sculptor Vulca of Veii and his school; sion of techniques, styles, and iconography, the
Chiusi for its canopic jars, tomb sculptures, urn harbor towns in southern Etruria, true emporia,
and cippus reliefs, and bucchero pesante; Orvieto played a major role: Pyrgi in the territory of
for its tomb architecture, tomb cippi, kouroi, and Cerveteri, Tarquinia’s Gravisca, and Vulci’s
bucchero pesante; Fiesole for its grave steles; and Regae/Regisvilla.
Populonia for the first silver coinage. Gravisca, especially, became home to any
Our knowledge of the history of Etruscan number of Greeks from the mid-sixth to the
painting in the Archaic period is naturally based beginning of the fifth century, most of them
primarily on tomb painting, painted clay plaques, natives of Ionia and Asia Minor who had fled
and various styles of vase painting. There are also their homelands in the face of the Persian inva-
a few literary sources. Tomb paintings are for the sion, after the North Ionian center Phocaea was
most part concentrated in the Monterozzi necrop- destroyed in 546. The strong Greek presence in
olis of Tarquinia, though we also have examples this international port and trading center is mani-
from Cerveteri, Chiusi, and Sarteano, as well as fested mainly in numerous Greek inscriptions
purely architectural painting, as A. Naso has and in the cults of such Greek deities as Hera,
shown, from various smaller South Etruscan Demeter, and Aphrodite. Sostratos, a wealthy sea-
towns. The main ones are Bisenzio, Grotte di trading merchant from Aegina—a kind of Ari
Castro, and Latera, in the vicinity of Lake Bolsena, Onassis of Greek antiquity who is prominently
and Castiglione in Teverina, in the territory of mentioned by Herodotus—immortalized himself
Volsinii. But Vulci and especially Cerveteri also in Gravisca by a votive inscription on an anchor
provide examples of such painting, emphasizing stone dedicated to his native god Apollo of
important architectural elements like the colu- Aegina. Many of the Greek names documented
Left: Grotte di Castro, Necropoli delle Pianezze, men, beams, gable supports, doors, and windows. in Gravisca are also found in other cities around
Tomb 2: back wall with painted wall pilaster,
Greek influences on the art and painting the Mediterranean dominated or frequented by
middle of the sixth century ..
of Etruria continued to be mainly from the Greeks, for example the Greek emporium of
Right: Grotte di Castro, Necropoli delle Pianezze,
Peloponnese and Corinth up to the middle of the Naucratis, founded in the Nile delta in 667 ..
Tomb 2: section of the ceiling painted with beams, sixth century, but after the middle of the century it In this period Cerveteri attracted the Ionian vase
middle of the sixth century .. takes on a mainly Aeolian and Ionic stamp. At the painters who produced the distinctive Caeretan
64 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

hydriae (water jars). The presence of Greek or “Ionian koine,” which will be discussed in
painters in Gravisca is attested by the discovery of greater detail in the concluding chapter.
color pigments in vessels beneath votive offerings. As for painting technique, all Etruscan wall
Some archaeologists even attribute some of the painting was now executed in fresco. The motifs
more outstanding Tarquinian painted tombs from were first incised into thin, damp plaster and then
the last decades of the sixth century to immigrant drawn in dark outlines. In the second half of the
Ionian painters. Among them are the Tomb of the sixth century the palette was no longer limited to
Augurs (degli Auguri), the Tomb of the Lionesses black, red, brown, and yellow, but was also enriched
(delle Leonesse), the Tomb of Hunting and with green and blue. For friezes of colored stripes,
Fishing (della Caccia e Pesca), and the Tomb of painters used twine dipped in pigment and stretched
the Baron (del Barone), all of which present true taut, the imprints of which are often still visible.
megalography and figural programs. In Archaic period tombs, the architectural
In terms of style, it is possible to discern features are generally emphasized with painting,
definite links between certain of the Late Archaic underscoring the tomb’s function as a “house of the
tomb paintings in Tarquinia and specific regions dead.” In many tombs only the purely architectural
or cities of the Ionian east. The Tomb of the Baron features have painted decoration: columens, gable
and the Tomb of the Inscriptions (delle Iscrizioni), supports, cross-beams, architraves, foundations,
for example, betray a strong North Ionian and false doors. Only in the Tomb of the Lionesses
influence; the Tomb of the Augurs and the Tomb and the Tomb of the Hunter is there an unambigu-
of the Jugglers (dei Giocolieri) show borrowings ous suggestion of a pavilion or tentlike structure.
from Aeolian Phocaea; and certain features of the Tomb gables are generally divided by a center sup-
Tomb of Hunting and Fishing can be traced to port with curved sides reminiscent of an altar,
Samos. There are also close similarities in style which can also have additional decorations like
and certain iconographic elements between Late volutes, palmettes, flowers, and/or rams’ horns.
Archaic Etruscan tomb painting and various Such supports were typical elements of wooden
examples of Late Archaic tomb and wall painting architecture and are found elsewhere as well, for
in Asia Minor, in Gordion (Phrygia), for example, example on a number of sarcophagi from
in Uşak (Lydia), and in Elmali/Karaburun (Lycia), Clazomenae (Asia Minor) with roof-shaped lids
which are also distinctly Ionian influenced. Thus it and on the facades of rock tombs and cult monu-
is possible to speak of an “international Ionicism” ments in Phrygia and Paphlagonia, also in Asia
Paris, Louvre: Caeretan hydria with depiction of

Eurystheus, Herakles, and Cerberus, ca. 530 ..

TIPO 1 TIPO 2
5
1 2 2a 3 4 6
Leoni Rossi n. 3986 Leoni di Giada n. 1646 Leonesse Giocolieri

7 8
2b
Fiore di Loto n. 3098
TIPO 3 TIPO 4
9 10 11 12 4a 20 21 22
Tori, atrio Tori, camera destra Pulcinella Bartoccini Triclinio n. 5513 n. 5892
13
14 15 16 4b 23 24 25
Cardarelli Topolino Barone Maestro delle Olimpiadi n. 1560 n. 3697 Scrofa Nera
17 18 19 4c 26 rosso
nero
giallo
Morente Fustigazione n. 4021 n. 808 azzurro
Typology of painted gable supports in Tarquinian Minor. Multiple colored stripes—in rare instances tury they assume greater detail, with akroteria or
tombs (after F. Iervolino) incorporating other patterns like rhombuses— round bronze fittings and painted panels like the
adorn the upper walls in Tarquinian tombs, imitat- one in the Tomb of the Augurs. Eighteen Tarquinian
ing the position and function of beams or tombs with false doors have been discovered, and it
architraves in domestic architecture. On these is also known from several Sub-Archaic tombs from
striped friezes, occasionally standing out in relief, Chiusi. At the close of the Late Archaic period, that
we frequently find actual or painted nails from is after 480, this architectural motif disappears from
which real or painted wreaths, festoons (taeniae), the repertoire of Tarquinian tomb painting.
and vessels could be hung. At times these friezes are Significantly, false doors, which often appear in
further enriched by a small frieze of stylized pome- combination with komos (revelry) depictions,
granates or small squares at the bottom. Additional always appear where in other tombs one would find
striped friezes lower down can only have been a real doorway leading to adjoining chambers. In
intended as pure decoration, or at times as dividers some tombs, like the Tomb of the Inscriptions, a
between pictorial friezes. The bottom section of the cruciform ground plan with four chambers is
walls can be either black or light-colored and is gen- thereby “simulated.” False doors do not merely imi-
erally bordered at the top by a multicolor stripe, tate architectural features; they also clearly symbol-
occasionally by a wavelike frieze. The columen, or ize a boundary between the worlds of the living and
ridge beam, is emphasized by reliefs and/or paint- the dead. In the Tomb of the Kithara Player (del
ing. It is highlighted in a strong red, at times with Citaredo) and Tomb 4255, the double false doors on
stripes on either side, or decorated with disc pat- the back wall quite obviously allude to a double
terns and occasionally with stylized ivy leaves that burial, probably a married couple. In place of false
recall designs on hydriae by the Micali Painter. The doors we occasionally find loculi designed for cre-
sloping ceiling surfaces in Tarquinia’s Archaic mation burials.
tombs can be adorned with red crossbeams, with In the decades between 530 and 480, Archaic
designs of little flowers on a light ground in imita- tomb painting presents a limited number of sub-
tion of fabric, or with colorful checkerboard pat- jects, at least some of which are exclusively
terns. The latter are generally thought to be Etruscan. Banqueting scenes of a typically aristo-
imitations of fabric as well, but in some cases they cratic stamp are staged either on the ground (Tomb
may represent basketwork. False doors of the Doric of the Frontoncino, Tomb of the Lionesses, and
style first appear in the second quarter of the sixth Tomb of Hunting and Fishing), in which case they
century. At first they take only a relatively simple, tend to be exclusively male, or on klines or dining
narrow form, but after the middle of the sixth cen- couches (Tombs of the Painted Vases [dei Vasi

dipinti], of the Old Man [del Vecchio] and of the fishing scenes (Tomb of Hunting and Fishing and
Bigas [delle Bighe]), at times with women in atten- Tomb of the Hunter) symbolize the tomb owner’s
dance. Komos scenes filled with movement and aristocratic lifestyle. Isolated mythological scenes
dancing scenes of a Dionysian flavor may be (Tomb of the Bulls [dei Tori], Tomb 1999, Tomb
thought of as relating to these banquets, and they with Dionysos and the Sileni [con Dioniso e
can include carousers crowned with wreaths, Sileni], and possibly Tomb of the Olympic Games
dancers, musicians, and players of kottabos, a and Tomb of the Baron) play only a minor role in
drinking game. These are almost always set in a Archaic tomb painting, in contrast to various other
grove of small trees (Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Etruscan art forms, especially vase painting.
Tomb of the Inscriptions, Cardarelli Tomb, and Finally, there are occasional erotic scenes (Tomb
Tomb of the Bacchantes [dei Baccanti]). of the Bulls and Tomb of the Whipping [della
Depictions of athletic competitions (ludi Fustigazione]). The typical gable repertoire
athletarum), chariot races (ludi circenses), and consists of heraldic wild cats, animal battles—
jugglers/acrobats (akroamata) suggest funeral generally lions or panthers attacking fallow deer or
games in honor of the deceased tomb owner (as ibexes, as in the cultures of Asia Minor—as well as
in the Tomb of the Jugglers, Tomb of the Olympic sea creatures (mainly hippocampi, less often tri-
Games [delle Olimpiadi], and Tomb of the Bigas tons) and botanical elements. The sea creatures
in Tarquinia, and the Tomb of the Monkey [della tend to resemble depictions on Pontic vases. The
Scimmia] and Tomb of the Casuccini Hill [del motif of the potnios theron, first seen in the
Colle Casuccini] in Chiusi). Burial scenes and Orientalizing period, is found in Archaic tomb
scenes from the cult of the dead include the painting only in somewhat altered form on the
prothesis, offerings, the typically Etruscan Phersu rear-wall gable of the Stefani Tomb.
rite, and the armed dance (as in the Tomb of the The erotic scenes, far less common here than
Augurs, Tomb of the Dead Man [del Morto], and in the contemporary art of Greece, are emphati-
Tomb of the Dying [del Morente]). Hunting and cally life-affirming; they are to be understood as
Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bacchantes, left wall:

komos scene, ca. 510/500 ..
Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers: section of

the back wall with aulos player, ca. 520 ..

Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Mouse: section of the
left wall with winged phallus, ca. 520 ..
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Mouse: section

of the back wall with little mouse on a branch,
ca. 520 ..
clear contrasts to the symbolism of death. The tant component of funeral ceremonies and one of
symposium, carousing, and komos scenes, at times the delights awaiting the deceased among kindred
almost orgiastic in nature, as in the anteroom of spirits and ancestors in the Elysian Fields. As
the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing and in the Tomb already mentioned, banqueting scenes take two dif-
of the Inscriptions, indicate how Dionysian ele- ferent forms. Those with revelers seated on the
ments had been incorporated into the Etruscan ground are mainly found on gables; banquets in
cult of the dead and their notions about the after- which the participants lie on klines were also only
life in the Archaic period. They also appear on seen in gables at the beginning, but after around
architectural terracotta friezes, as in Acquarossa. In 510/500 they usually occupy the back wall. The
the gable painting of the Tomb with Dionysos and typologically older drinking bouts on the ground
the Sileni, which has unfortunately been lost, the represent eastern Greek influences, even in the par-
wine god himself was presented, bearded and ticipants’ costumes—for example, the reveler’s
dressed in green, along with dancing sileni and a hood. At first we find only men in these paintings,
panther. In Tomb 1999, two naked and bearded but beginning at the end of the sixth century
sileni with wine flasks are seen dancing on the women appear as well, an Etruscan peculiarity fre-
right-hand wall as part of a komos, next to a couple quently criticized by the Greeks (see Diodorus
reclining in a grove on the back wall. In the gable of Siculus 5.40, where he describes Etruscan banquet-
the entry wall of the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing ing customs, with their many attendant slaves),
there are also satyrs. Other Dionysian symbols are for these women are Etruscan wives rather than
found as well, for example the winged phallus in hetairai (courtesans) as in Greece. A number of
the Tomb of the Mouse (del Topolino) or the large banquets, as in the Tomb of the Painted Vases from
ivy-wreathed volute krater in the Tomb of the the period around 500 and the Tomb of the Old
Lionesses. Such Dionysian imagery, also seen in a Man, are deliberately familial in nature, and
few Late Archaic tomb reliefs from Chiusi, could include the deceased couple’s children. Most
suggest the existence of exoteric Dionysian com- carousing scenes appear to be set in a grove, which
munities or hetaireiai, which guaranteed immor- is indicated by a few small trees. The banqueters
tality to their initiates. The komos, with Dionysian are attended by naked cupbearers, serving boys,
elements of an orgiastic nature, can thus be read in musicians, or, as in a gable of the Tomb of Hunting
two ways; it hovers somewhere between the worlds and Fishing, women weaving wreaths. Banqueting
of the living and the dead. It was both an impor- scenes present a number of fascinating antiquarian

details regarding the furnishings of the sympo- contributions on this subject. We have to assume Tarquinia, Tomb of the Painted Vases, right wall:
sium, with klines, footrests, and kylikeia (small that most subjects can, and probably must, be kylikeion and komos scene (nineteenth-century
watercolor by L. Schulz), ca. 510/500 ..
tables), mattresses, coverlets, and cushions, also its interpreted on several different levels, that they
traditional costumes and vessels—often wreathed contain allusions to the world of the living as well
(mainly kraters, amphorae, oinochoae, and bowls). as to the afterlife. The banqueting scenes, for exam-
Many of them are enlivened by the inclusion of lit- ple, can be thought of both as actual events, impor-
tle animals beneath the tables and klines. Among tant moments from the lives of Etruria’s aristocracy
the athletic competitions held in honor of the or funeral banquets in honor of the deceased, and
deceased, we find footraces, long-jumping, discus- as a kind of wishful thinking about the sort of
throwing, wrestling, boxing, and chariot-racing, all “heroic” existence awaiting them in the afterlife.
of which were also popular in Greece, where they Needless to say, one must always consider the
are mainly depicted on vases. The most spectacular iconographic context provided by the adjacent
events were chariot races, which according to the scenes, for the subjects depicted on the various
literary sources were introduced into Etruria at the walls are interrelated. The prevailing trend in
behest of the Delphic oracle after the Battle of recent years has been to shift the symposium to the
Alalia and the slaughter of Phocaean prisoners of afterlife, as it were, and give it a more distinctly
war. Chariot races are depicted in two Tarquinian transcendental connotation. However one inter-
tombs from the end of the sixth century and in prets such scenes, one must always bear in mind
four Chiusan tombs from the first decades of the that these tomb paintings were by no means public
fifth century, some including dramatic accidents. showpieces but rather private, more introspective
It was formerly thought that most of these works of a largely religious, eschatological nature
subjects were to be taken literally, that they repre- that were mainly intended to be enjoyed by the
sented scenes from everyday Etruscan life, life at deceased themselves. At most, they might have
court, and traditional funeral celebrations. In been seen periodically by their closest relatives.
recent years, however, scholars have raised the pos- We get some idea of Etruscan burial festivities and
sibility of more complex interpretations that incor- rites associated with the cult of the dead indirectly
porate sociological elements, symbolism specific to from the Greek historian Polybius, who lived in
the cult of the dead, and borrowings from Greek Rome in the second century .. He describes the
culture and religion. B. D’Agostino, L. Cerchiai, corresponding customs among Roman aristocrats
and M. Torelli have produced the most notable (6.53), especially the presence in funeral processions

of actors wearing masks (Etruscan Phersu corre- nificance. The laurel, for example, was sacred to
sponds to the Latin persona = mask) and the Apollo, whom the Etruscans are known to have
display of symbols of office like bundles of rods associated closely with the underworld. The
and axes indicating the rank of the deceased. Also cypress was sacred to Hades, the lord of the under-
of interest is Suetonius’s later description of the world, the pomegranate to Persephone and—
festivities associated with the burial of Emperor according to a late myth—Dionysos. Palms had
Vespasian (Vesp. 19). various meanings; they could stand for the sun,
Plants are more common in Etruscan tomb immortality, glory, and above all victory. The most
painting from the Late Archaic period than in the elaborate depictions or suggestions of landscape
preceding Orientalizing decades, which saw the are found in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing and
inclusion of highly stylized botanical elements pri- the Tomb of the Hunter in Tarquinia.
marily as decoration. Now small trees, bushes, and Inscriptions are relatively rare in Archaic
occasionally whole groves, also coastal landscapes, tombs, in contrast to later Etruscan tomb painting
are depicted more realistically, indicating that the from the fourth and third centuries. Still, they are
majority of scenes are taking place out of doors. now more common than in the subsequent fifth
Trees can be adorned with ribbons and wreaths to century. The main examples are from the Tombs of
emphasize the festive, ritual nature of an occasion. the Bulls, the Augurs, the Inscriptions, the Jugglers,
Because many of the plants are still quite stylized, and the Dead Man. Only occasionally is the
it is not always easy to identify them precisely. deceased identified by an inscription, either as a
Most common are laurels, palms, and grapevines. participant at a banquet on his kline or, as in the
In addition to determining what plants are case of “Arath Spuriana” in the Tomb of the Bulls,
depicted, it is also important to recognize their in his function as founder or builder of the tomb.
function in the overall context and composition of Occasionally figures are identified by their roles in
the picture as well as their possible symbolic mean- komos plays and funeral ceremonies or by their
ings. M. Stangl, A.-M. Adam, and most recently profession or function, and even figures of obvi-
I. Zanoni have thoroughly studied this subject. ously low social standing (like “Aranth Heracanasa”
In many cases it is probable that such plants were in the Tomb of the Jugglers) may be identified by
included not simply to suggest an outdoor setting name. In other cases the deceased or even the
Tarquinia, Tombs of the Augurs, the Jugglers, and but also for their funereal and eschatological sig- deceased couple may be depicted as participants or
the Baron: details of small trees

spectators at banquets, komos plays, dances, and Banchettanti), active at the turn from the sixth to Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back
games, as in the Tomb of the Jugglers, Tomb 5591, the fifth century. The workshop of the “Master of chamber: detail of the back wall with bird hunter
with slingshot, ca. 510 ..
the Cardarelli Tomb, and Tomb of the Bacchantes the Bacchantes” (Maestro dei Baccanti) was active
in Tarquinia and the Tomb of the Monkey in late in this period, roughly from 510 to 490/480, and
Center: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Olympic Games:
Chiusi. No painters’ signatures have survived, with is credited with six tombs, namely the Cardarelli detail of the back wall with running youth,
the possible exception of an inscription in the Tomb, the Tombs of the Bacchantes, the Whipping, ca. 510 ..
Tomb of the Jugglers. As yet the figures have noth- and the Skull (del Teschio), and Tombs 4255 and
ing of the portrait about them, and nowhere in this 5591. Obvious similarities appear above all in the Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses: detail of
period is there a pictorial sequence of ancestors like decoration of the columen with colorful disk the back wall with blond male dancer, ca. 520 ..
those found in later Tarquinian tomb painting. designs, in gables painted with fighting animals,
Four main workshop groups can be distin- false doors of the Doric style on the back wall orna-
guished in the especially numerous painted tombs mented with round bronze fittings, seemingly
from the decades between 530 and 490/480. Based comic figures of boxers on either side of the
on compositional, stylistic, and iconographic simi- entrance door, and the omission of a banquet scene
larities, from two to six tombs can be attributed in favor of an animated komos circle with dancers
to each of them. G. Camporeale and C. Weber- and musicians. The painters’ obvious delight in var-
Lehmann have made a special study of workshop ied movements in all these tombs already suggests
characteristics. Several workshops apparently the influence of Attic red-figure vase painting—for
painted both tombs with animals in the gables and example, that of Onesimos. Some painted tombs
tombs with figural wall paintings. For example, it is cannot be associated with a particular workshop,
probable that the Tomb of the Lotus Flower (del because many of them have a distinctly individual
Fior di Loto), Tomb 3098, and the Tomb of Hunting character, like the Tomb of the Hunter, which will
and Fishing were painted by the same workshop. be discussed later on. In many tombs, moreover,
The Tarantola Tomb and Tomb 5898, as well as the one can distinguish between various hands, some
Tombs of the Olympic Games, the Dead Man, and more accurate, others less skillful.
the Inscriptions belong to the same workshop Of particular interest in recent years is the
group as the Tomb of the Augurs. Another work- problem of how the tomb space relates to architec-
shop appears to have decorated the Tombs of the ture and painting. F. Roncalli, for example, sees in
Lionesses and the Jugglers. The Tomb of the Tarquinian tombs like the Tombs of the Bulls, the
Master of the Olympic Games (del Maestro delle Jugglers, and the Baron a division into a front space
Olimpiadi) and Tomb 4780 are attributed to reserved mainly for the living and a back area dedi-
the “Master of the Banqueters” (Maestro dei cated to the dead. This division is reflected in the

p. 73
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Augurs: detail of the left wall
with escaping masked Phersu, ca. 520 ..
pp. 74–75
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lotus Flower, back wall: right
half of the gable with lion, ca. 520 ..
pp. 76–77
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Mouse, entry wall: detail of
the left half of the gable with cupbearer and reveler
lounging on a kline, ca. 520 ..
pp. 78–79
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bulls, back wall of the
antechamber: detail of the center picture with scene of
Achilles waiting behind a fountain to ambush the
Trojan prince Troilus, ca. 530 ..
p. 80
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Augurs, right side of the back p. 81
wall: male figure identified by an inscription— Tarquinia, Tomb of the Pulcinella: detail of the left
probably a priest—caught in a gesture of mourning, wall with a mounted warrior, ca. 510 ..
ca. 520 ..
p. 82 p. 83
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses: detail of the left Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses, back wall: detail
wall with a reclining symposiast, lotus-palmette band, with richly gowned female dancer and lotus-palmette
and wave frieze, ca. 520 .. band, ca. 520 ..
p. 84
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers, back wall: detail of a p. 85
juggling scene with a female dancer balancing a Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers, right wall: detail with
candelabrum on her head and a youth with disks in female dancer, ca. 520 ..
front of a basket, ca. 520 ..
pp. 86–87
Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back
chamber: detail of the back-wall gable with a
banqueting scene, an aristocratic couple in the
center surrounded by aulos players and cupbearers,
ca. 510 ..
p. 88
Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back
chamber: detail of the left wall with water birds,
ca. 510 ..
placement of the stone burial couches, and also in gable, now strictly separated by a center support, Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bacchantes; detail of
the way the painted scenes on the side walls are tend to be filled with animals, mostly predatory the back wall with pair of dancers (nineteenth-
century lucido by Carlo Ruspi), ca. 510/500 ..
shifted closer to the back wall. M. Torelli sees a felines, but occasionally fabulous beasts and sea
clear distinction between a front space for the liv- creatures, pairs of animals in combat, and plants,
Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bacchantes, back
ing and a back one for the dead in the placement of often in intense abstract colors. The closest paral- wall: komast and pair of dancers, and groups of
false doors on the side walls in a number of tombs, lels in terms of motifs and style are found on con- fighting animals in the gable, ca. 510/500 ..
for example in the Tomb of the Inscriptions. The temporary Pontic vases from Vulci—especially
subject matter of the wall paintings underscores it those of the Tityos and Amphiaraos Painters,
as well. In the front space we find games and rituals whose characteristics will be discussed later.
associated with funeral festivities, while the back Typical animal-gable tombs are the Tomb of the
space presents allegorical scenes like the journey on Red Lions (dei Leoni Rossi), the Tomb of the Lotus
horseback into the afterlife or the eternal sympo- Flower, and Tomb 2098. The last two are distin-
sium in the Elysian Fields. In this way the tomb guished by their distinctly decorative and intense
space becomes a kind of “locus medius,” a transition coloring, and G. Camporeale was able to attribute
zone between the worlds of the living and the dead. them to the same workshop as that of the “Master
Considered chronologically, Tarquinian tomb of the Bright Colors” (Maestro dei Colori sgar-
painting in the second quarter of the sixth century gianti). The gables of the Tomb of the Tritons
is at first characterized by a “tectonic phase,” in (dei Tritoni) are dominated by sea creatures. The
which only the most important architectural ele- famous Tomb of the Bulls, which will be discussed
ments—reflections of domestic architecture—are separately, belongs to the animal-gable type but
reproduced in painting, in a very simplified man- presents the innovation of a central figural picture.
ner. Here one thinks mainly the Tomb of the Hut Also representative of the type are the Labrouste
(della Capanna), the Tomb of the Marchese, and Tomb, the Tomb of the Lions (dei Leoni), the
Tomb 7120, in which for the first time a narrow Tomb of the Jade Lions (dei Leoni di Giada), the
false door of the Doric style appears between the Tomb of the Sea (del Mare), the Tomb with Doors
two stone benches and even extends up into the and Cats (con Porte e Felini), and the Stefani
gable area. Tomb—with the despotes theron between birds and
Characteristic of the third and in part even lions in the back-wall gable— and Tombs 356, 939,
the final quarter of the sixth century are “animal- 1646, 3010, 3011, and 3986. All these typical animal-
gable” tombs, in which the architectural elements gable tombs can likely be attributed to only a few
are treated more decoratively, and the sides of the workshops, like that of the “Master of the Red

Lions” (Maestro dei Leoni Rossi). The predatory unusual feature of this typical aristocratic ban-
beasts and sea creatures in particular must have queting scene is the obvious distinction drawn
been chosen as much for their apotropaic or sym- between men in Ionian dress lounging on klines
bolic significance as for their decorative qualities; (of the Greek type with sawed leg shapes) and the
the latter, for example, act as attendants on the women seated in armchairs next to them on the
deceased’s journey across the sea into the afterlife. right. This motif derives from eastern Greece, seen
Around 530 narrative scenes, most of them there mainly in reliefs of funeral banquets, but it
depicting drinking bouts, also begin to appear in is one that also appears several decades later on
gables, which are now generally lacking a center grave steles from Fiesole and in the Tarquinian
support. Typical of this group are the Tarantola Tomb 808 from the turn from the fifth to the
Tomb, Tombs 4780 and 5039, and above all the fourth century. The gables in the other chambers
Tomb of the Frontoncino, whose back-wall gable are decorated with sea creatures, lions and pan-
was irreparably destroyed by tomb robbers in 1971. thers, and predatory animals attacking rumi-
In strong colors (including blue) clearly set apart nants. There is a distinctly Ionian element in the
from each other, this latter tomb presented an all- Bartoccini Tomb, but one may not necessarily con-
male drinking bout on the ground of the Ionian clude that this singular tomb was commissioned
type, in which the naked cupbearer on the left was by an Ionian Greek. The ceiling of the main cham-
probably a quote from Attic vase painting. The old- ber is painted with a colorful checkerboard textile
est banqueting scene with klines in Tarquinian design, as are the doorframes. The Tomb of the
tomb painting is found in the Bartoccini Tomb Mouse, from the period around 520, is distin-
from around 530/520. Such banquets are docu- guished by its comic features, some of them rather
mented in Etruria beginning in the first quarter of vulgar. Its separated gable panels are filled with
the sixth century, namely on painted terracotta banqueting and komos scenes as well as hip-
frieze plaques from the younger aristocratic palace pocampi and predatory cats. Around the walls we
complex at Murlo-Poggio Civitate, south of Siena. find for the first time a continuous grove of small
The Bartoccini Tomb—the largest Tarquinian trees—populated by birds but not yet figures—
tomb from the Archaic period—has four chambers which is only interrupted on the back wall by a
in a cruciform arrangement, and the small- false door of the Doric style. The tomb is named
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Red Lions, back-wall figured, dark-ground scene in question fills the after the miniature depiction of a small mouse
gable: two lions flanking the center gable support,
back-wall gable of the main center chamber. An seated on a branch; the winged phallus on the left
ca. 530 ..

Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Mouse, back wall: false
door flanked by small trees, gable support flanked
by a lion and a reclining reveler, ca. 520 ..
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bulls, back wall of

the antechamber: mythological scene with Achilles
and Troilus and erotic scenes with bulls, ca. 530 ..
wall derives from Dionysian symbolism in the century, as reported by Theodotus. The quality of
Etruscan cult of the dead. the painting is not especially distinguished, with its
The Tomb of the Bulls, from the period limited palette, its inaccurate proportions in spots,
around 540/530, is a three-chamber tomb with a and its rather draftsmanly style. A. Giuliano has
ground plan often encountered in contemporary shown that the workshop has much in common
Caeretan tomb architecture. In type it still essen- with eastern Greek vase painting, especially Pontic
tially belongs to the animal-gable group; however, vase painting (the Paris Painter and his circle). An
it includes the seminal innovation of a large picture inscription identifies an “Arath Spuriana” as the
centered on the back wall of its roomy antecham- owner of the tomb; he may have come from the
ber. In it we see Achilles killing the Trojan prince same family as the “Araz Silqetenas Spurianas” in
Troilus next to an altar-like well with lion water- the well-known inscription on a small ivory lion
spouts, amid a landscape with lush vegetation. This from the Sant’Omobono shrine consecrated to
is one of the very few depictions of mythological Fortuna and Mater Matuta on the Forum Boarium
subjects in Archaic Etruscan tomb painting, and in Rome. The depiction in the gable of the back
surely the best known. The subject often appears in wall is generally related to the myth of Bellerophon
contemporary vase painting, on Pontic vases, for and the Chimaera, a heroic subject of Anatolian
example. According to E. Simon, the event is taking origin beloved by Etruscan princes. C. Weber-
place in the laurel grove of Apollo Thymbraios, Lehmann prefers to see the bowman in Scythian
which could be considered an allusion to the clothing as a Trojan. In the gable of the entry wall a
Etruscans’ worship of Apollo as an underworld hippocampus, its rider, and cliffs apparently allude
deity. The scene takes on the character of a ritual to the journey across the sea into the afterlife.
sacrifice, due to the presence of the altar and Among the other gable motifs are bulls, lions, pan-
Achilles’ use of a machaira (curved blade), which thers, ibex, ducks, a sphinx, and plants. The famous
emphasizes the warrior’s aretè (valor). The scene small ribald frieze showing a heterosexual couple
may also contain a hidden allusion to the sacrifice regarded by a complacent bull and a homosexual
of Liparian prisoners of war to Apollo in the sixth couple with an enraged one (with an Acheloos

head) is one of the most disputed works in Caeretan hydriae, which have many similarities to
Etruscan tomb painting, and has often been inter- the Augurs’ Tomb. It is possible that the Tombs of
preted in an apotropaic sense. In the Tomb of the the Olympic Games, the Dead Man, and the
Bulls we thus find a combination of various ele- Inscriptions were created by the same workshop.
ments and concepts such as war, aretè, love, sac- The style of the paintings is definitely influenced by
rifice, and death. Ionian, especially Phocaean painting, though the
The first Tarquinian tombs with walls com- subject matter is Etruscan. Noteworthy are the
pletely painted with figures appear around 530/520, number of inscriptions, unusual for the Archaic
a time when traditional animal-gable tombs were period, and the complete absence of female figures.
still being created as well. One of the first to pre- In the back-wall gable, an ibex is being attacked by
sent large-format paintings—true megalography— a lion on one side and a panther on the other, a
is the famous Tomb of the Augurs, whose motif unique in Etruscan tomb painting. The back
high-quality and expressive wall frescoes with wall itself is dominated by a beautifully executed
astonishingly monumental and extremely balanced false door in the Doric style flanked by two
compositions have led many archaeologists to “augurs,” who with their gestures of mourning
attribute them to an immigrant Ionian master, per- radiate a sacred dignity, standing between small
haps a member of the workshop that produced the trees. Inscriptions identify them as “tanasar” and

“apastansar,” apparently priests in the ancestral referee or the man responsible for the games.
cult. To the left of the door, a bird has taken flight. Another small servant or slave wearing a cap
The other scenes, like the wrestling match with a (cucullus) is seen to be asleep, crouching on the
referee and the bloody Phersu rite on the right ground. Several of the figures wear the beak-
wall, the boxing match to musical accompaniment shaped shoes, called calcei repandi, that were very
on the left wall, and the acrobats on the entry wall popular in this period. The wrestlers, with three
are clearly to be interpreted as part of the funeral bronze lebetes as prizes and two birds flying above,
ceremonies in honor of the tomb’s aristocratic could be slaves. The seemingly gruesome Phersu
owner. The deceased is probably the wildly gesticu- rite, which is depicted only four times in
lating figure on the right wall, identified by his Tarquinian tomb paintings and on a single
purple-red garment (toga purpurea); behind him is Etruscan black-figured vase, could allude to the
a small servant figure bearing the folding chair (the killing of prisoners of war, like the slaughter in
later Roman sella curulis) that identifies the dead Cerveteri of Phocaean prisoners of war after the
man as a high official in the magistracy. Like the sea-battle of Alalia. A number of experts choose to
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Augurs, right wall: wrestlers
deceased, the other aristocratic gentleman wears a see in this bloody ritual a precursor of the later above bronze lebetes, flanked by high-ranking
purple-edged toga, and with his curved staff he is Roman gladiatorial games. The Phersu on the right men with servants and the bloody Phersus rite,
identified as “tevarath,” probably in his function as wall, wearing a short jerkin and identified by an ca. 520 ..

inscription and a bearded mask, is siccing a blood- dark-skinned, with blond hair, and holds an
thirsty, leashed Molosser dog on an already oinochoe in his left hand. Centered directly below
wounded man in a loincloth with a sack over his the large krater—doubtless intentionally—is a
head, who has only a cudgel with which to defend niche for a cremation burial. On the two side walls
himself. A second, similarly masked Phersu on the are large-format banqueting scenes on the ground,
left wall is running away, apparently defeated. In a men-only drinking bout in the Ionian manner.
the Tomb of the Pulcinella and the much later Some of the reclining men, who are dressed in con-
Tomb of the Cock (del Gallo), the Phersu, again trasting blue and green garments—among them
distinguished by a mask, appears only as a dancer, possibly the deceased owner of the tomb—hold
with none of the gruesome context. eggs in their hands as symbols of life. The gable of
The Tomb of the Lionesses, possibly executed the back wall is filled with the eponymous lionesses
by the same painting workshop as the Tomb of the with swollen teats. The sloping ceiling is painted
Jugglers, is another of the earliest Tarquinian cham- in a red-and-white checkerboard pattern, and the
ber tombs with large-format scenes. It is notable bottom of the walls is adorned with a dark frieze
for its pavilion- or tentlike character, suggested of waves with leaping dolphins and birds, possibly
by the thin wood columns with richly patterned suggesting the journey across the sea into the after-
Etruscan capitals. The center of the back wall is life. Above it there is a colorful lotus-palmette
dominated by a large volute krater—probably frieze of the eastern Greek type, similar to those
meant to look like bronze (like the famous krater found on Clazomenaean sarcophagi. Ionian
from Vix in eastern France)—adorned with ivy influences clearly predominate; the painter of this
and flanked by two musicians. An elegantly dressed outstanding Tarquinian tomb could have been an
female dancer with tutulus (pointed cap) and émigré Ionian himself.
castanets—perhaps the deceased—appears on the The Tomb of the Jugglers dates from the
left, and a pair of young dancers on the right; they same time. Its animated, colorful paintings again
are striking because of their contrasting colors. The show strong Ionian—mainly Phocaean—
young woman, wearing an almost transparent gar- influences, as confirmed by contemporary vase
ment, has light skin and black hair, and is making painting on Caeretan hydriae. The painter of this
an apotropaic hand gesture; the naked male is tomb employed a few highly original ideas, some of
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses, back wall: base

of the wall with wave frieze, lotus-palmette band,
dancers and musicians, and lionesses flanking the
gable support, ca. 520 ..

them almost scurrilous. On the back wall are a choose to see this figure, a man of obviously infe-
group of young men with mourning gestures, an rior rank, as the painter of the tomb, which would
aulos player, a graceful and richly adorned balle- make this the only Etruscan painter’s signature.
rina balancing a candelabrum on her head, and an The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, which
acrobat with disks and baskets. A high-ranking, consists of two chambers, one behind the other, is
older aristocratic gentleman wearing a purple unquestionably one of the most beautiful and orig-
toga—probably the deceased tomb owner inal of the Tarquinian tombs from the Late Archaic
himself—is seated on a folding chair (sella curulis), period, around 520/10. The wall frescoes in the
watching the animated scene with interest. On the antechamber, which are less frequently discussed
right wall we find a sort of country dance, a row of and illustrated, present a number of almost naked,
large-format, colorfully dressed and richly adorned grotesquely inflated figures performing what
female dancers with lovely Ionian profiles and vivid appears to be a ritual dance of a Dionysian charac-
gestures, with a musician playing a syrinx, or pan- ter in a grove (E. Simon takes it to be a laurel
pipes, in the center. On the left wall an old man grove) richly decorated with ribbons, wreaths, mir-
with a gnarled walking stick is accompanied by a rors, and cistae. The reclining satyrs with drinking
youth, and another young man with a curved staff horns (rhytoi) on the gable of the entry wall are
runs ahead—perhaps a symbolic allusion to the another indication of the importance of Dionysian
journey into the afterlife. Another man, who is elements, adopted in the sixth century, probably
relieving himself beneath a palm tree filled with from Attica, in the Etruscans’ religion and cult of
birds, is identified as “Aranth Heracanasa,” that is the dead. On the back-wall gable is a scene depict-
“Aranth, servant of Heracanas.” Like the two- ing a return from the hunt, with hunters, dogs, and
humped camel (or two clowns costumed as one) abundant quarry in an almost tropical landscape
on the entry wall—Bactrian camels were used in with lush vegetation. The scene attests to the tomb
battle by the Persians in the Near East—this vulgar owner’s virtus. Like the hunt, the banquet, here Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers, back wall:
base level with wave frieze, jugglers, and predatory
motif, depicted with utmost realism, is unique in found on the gable of the back wall in the main
cats flanking the gable support, ca. 520 ..
Etruscan tomb painting. Most scholars interpret it chamber, served Etruscan aristocrats as a status
as an apotropaic gesture or mockery of death. A symbol. A noble, richly adorned reclining couple, Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers: section of
number of them, like G. Colonna and M. Torelli, apparently the husband and wife buried in the the right wall with female dancer, ca. 520 ..

Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, ante- tomb, are surrounded by two young women weav- bronze statuette from Perugia. The seascapes of
chamber: left wall and right wall with komos in a ing wreaths, possibly their daughters, two naked this tomb surely have multiple meanings. They
decorated grove (nineteenth-century watercolor by
cupbearers, an aulos player, drinking vessels, reflect the coastal landscape of Tarquinia and show
G. Mariani), ca. 510 ..
wreaths, and birds. This couple, shown in profile in typical activities of the Etruscan aristocracy like
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and
the Ionian manner, is reminiscent of the two hunting and fishing, but at the same time they
Fishing, antechamber: section of the left wall with famous, roughly contemporary husband-and-wife allude to the long journey across the sea into the
dancer in a decorated grove, ca. 510 .. sarcophagi in terracotta from Cerveteri. The tomb’s afterlife and the Elysian Fields. As a result, the ban-
best-known and most impressive paintings are the quet in the tympanum takes on an otherworldly,
seascapes with cliffs, boats (with apotropaic eyes), heroic dimension. In the back wall there is a niche
fishermen with harpoons and nets, hunters with for a cremation burial.
slings, water birds, and leaping dolphins on the The Tomb of the Baron, from the period
walls of the main chamber. Their almost miniatur- around 510 and discovered in 1827, was named after
ist style with loving details and landscape elements its codiscoverer Baron Kestner. It is extremely
recalls that of the so-called Ionian Little Masters important, and its high-quality wall paintings have
of Late Archaic Samos vase painting. Here nature been singled out in the archaeological literature
clearly prevails over the figural elements and time and again, though it has been interpreted in
blends in with them. The motif of the diver, proba- very different ways. Particularly striking are the
bly to be understood in the eschatological sense as symmetry of the figural scenes on the back wall
a leap from this world into the next, recurs roughly and two side walls and the harmonious distribu-
thirty years later in the well-known Tomb of the tion of figures and muted colors. The gray back-
Diver (del Tuffatore) in Poseidonia/Paestum, and is ground (sovradipintura grigiastra), unique in
also found in the form of a Late Archaic Etruscan Etruscan wall painting, makes the figures appear to

be silhouetted. There are ten figures in all, possibly Ricci Hydria from Cerveteri, which is why some
representing only five people. The horsemen or have suspected that this outstanding Tarquinian
grooms that appear on all three walls could be the tomb may even have been painted by an immigrant
Dioscuri, assimilated from Greek mythology and Ionian, probably of Clazomenaean origin.
known as psychopompoi, guides who lead the The Tomb of the Olympic Games, from the
dead into the afterlife. They are identified in an period around 510, may perhaps be attributed to
Etruscan inscription on a famous Oltos kylix from the same workshop as the Tombs of the Augurs, the
Tarquinia. The richly dressed, veiled woman in the Inscriptions, and the Dead Man. Such agonistic
center of both the back wall and the left wall is disciplines of Greek origin as boxing, foot-racing,
probably the deceased. In the center of the back the long jump, discus-throwing, and chariot-racing
wall the noble, elegant woman wearing a tutulus is are presented, the latter for the first time in
either being welcomed or departing. Some have Etruscan tomb painting and complete with a
taken her to be a priestess, heroine, or even a dramatic accident in the foreground. The scene
goddess (E. Simon argues for Semele). An older, on the back wall is more difficult to interpret.
dark-haired, bearded man is offering her a large Some choose to see in it a Greek myth, perhaps
drinking cup, and a blond youth is playing a dou- the Judgment of Paris, which was very popular in
ble flute. All three wear the typical calcei repandi. In Etruscan Archaic art. In that case the youthful,
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Baron, left wall: center
section with an aristocratic woman between two style the Tomb of the Baron is strongly influenced naked Paris to the right of the false door would
youths with horses (original and nineteenth- by the painting of northern Ionia and recalls depic- appear to be rushing off with the victor Aphrodite
century lucido by Carlo Ruspi), ca. 510 .. tions on Clazomenaean sarcophagi and on the in the guise of a noble Etruscan woman. In the

gable, relaxed carousers flank the curved center Tarquinian workshop. Among the main features of
support. On the right wall, as in the Tomb of the these tombs are comic, paunchy boxers on either
Augurs, the gruesome Phersu rite is depicted with side of the entrance. Here they are not related to
the masked Phersu wearing a checkerboard- other athletic competitions, so they must be
patterned doublet. The paintings, mainly limited accounted for some other way. The other wall
to reds and blues, are Ionian-Phocaean in style and paintings in this group of tombs do not show
are distinguished by their vitality and even certain actual banquets but rather Dionysian komos
humorous features, but in terms of quality they do scenes—some with the kottabos game adopted
not match those of the Tomb of the Augurs. The from Greece—and false doors, doubtless as sym-
Tomb of the Master of the Olympic Games, much bolic passages from this life into the next or as
more poorly preserved and of lesser quality, pre- representations of the deceased “ex absentia”
sents the so-called kalpe, described by Pausanias, in (L. Cerchiai). The scenes of animals and fights
which riders leap down from their horses and race between animals in the gables symbolize death as
to a finish line on foot, still holding the reins. well, but can also be associated with the sphere of
A Late Archaic group of tombs from the Dionysos and Aphrodite. Cerchiai, for example,
period around 500, notably the Cardarelli Tomb, underscores the connections between hunting and
and the Tombs of the Whipping, the Skull, and Eros and between the boxers and the Dionysian
the Kithara Player—probably the Tomb of the komos. He finds figures comparable to the boxers
Bacchantes, and Tombs 4255, 4260, and 5591 as on Chiusan cippus reliefs and on Attic and
well—was probably painted by the same Etruscan black-figure vases (the Micali Painter).
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Master of the Olympic

Games, back-wall gable: detail of the fighting
animals to the right of the gable support,
ca. 500 ..
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Olympic Games,

right wall: section with three runners, a jumper,
and a discus thrower, ca. 510 ..

Tarquinia, Cardarelli Tomb, back wall: false door
flanked by a kithara player and an aulos player,
with groups of fighting animals in the gable,
ca. 510/500 ..
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Whipping, entry

wall: nude boxer to the left of the door, ca. 490 ..
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Dead Man,

left wall: detail with prothesis scene (original
and nineteenth-century lucido by Carlo Ruspi),
ca. 510 ..
On the left wall of the Cardarelli Tomb—named the burial is depicted on one of the side walls; the
after the local Tarquinian poet Vincenzo female corpse has been placed on the couch and is
Cardarelli—a noblewoman, depicted as a dancer surrounded by family members with gestures of
with tutulus and calcei repandi, the contours of her mourning, some of them identified by name. In
body visible beneath her transparent gown, proba- fourth-century Lucanian tomb painting at
bly represents the deceased. She is accompanied by Paestum, such burial scenes—some beneath
servants holding attributes symbolic of status (a baldachins—are exclusively reserved for tombs of
fan) and women (a mirror). In the Tomb of the women; men were there celebrated with a funus
Whipping, komos figures, dancers, and musicians triumphalis, a procession of horsemen and warriors.
alternate with erotic groupings that relate to the Other tombs from the turn from the sixth to
Dionysian sphere, to be sure, but were also cer- fifth century worthy of mention are the Tomb of
tainly meant to be apotropaic and life-affirming. the Old Man (with a large-format banquet on
In one of the two groups on the right wall, a klines on the back wall), the Tomb of the Bronze
woman is being subjected to what appears to be a Door (della Porta di Bronzi), the Tomb of the
ritual flogging, which recalls the fertility rites of the Pyrrhicist (dei Pirrichisti, with nude armed
feast of Lupercalia in Rome. In style and subject dancers), the Tomb of the Pulcinella (with athletic
matter these groupings are reminiscent of depic- and musical scenes, including the Phersu as a
tions on early Attic red-figure cups. dancer), the Tomb of the Inscriptions, and the
The actual prothesis, or entombment of the Tomb of the Painted Vases (with a familial banquet
deceased, frequently depicted in Greece since the on klines, komos players, and dancers). Of greatest
Geometric period, especially in vase painting, is interest are the Ionian-style paintings in the Tomb
documented only twice in Etruscan tomb painting of the Inscriptions, from the period around 520.
in Tarquinia, namely in the Tomb of the Dead Man Sadly, they are in a very poor state of preservation
and the Tomb of the Dying from the closing sixth and now no longer accessible, so that we must rely
century. It is presented more often in Chiusan urn on the valuable facsimiles by Carlo Ruspi. They
and cippus reliefs. In the two Tarquinian tombs, feature dense crowds of large-format figures and

Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Inscriptions, left
portion of the right wall: circle of komasts with
figures identified in inscriptions (nineteenth-
century lucido by Carlo Ruspi), ca. 520 ..
Bottom: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Hunter: detail of

the left wall with animal frieze imitating textiles,
ca. 510/500 ..
three false doors. In the front area of the chamber workshop. Its structure clearly imitates that of a
are depictions of athletes, musicians, and offerings splendid hunting tent, with slender wooden poles,
in honor of the deceased, in the rear a procession a fabric ceiling decorated with a colorful checker-
of horsemen and a merry komos scene. According board design, and transparent, gauzelike curtains.
to M. Torelli, the scenes at the back half of the It is thus unique in Etruscan tomb painting. Of
chamber are set in the afterlife. Unique in Archaic particular interest are the dark-ground frieze of a
tomb painting are the large number of inscriptions hunt, painted in imitation of patchwork fabric and
that name members of various families, possibly incorporating almost ninety figures—a deliberately
members of a hetaireia. In terms of style, the ani- old-fashioned element ultimately rooted in the
mated figures can be compared with depictions on Orientalizing phase and presented in abstract
Caeretan hydriae and Campana-style dinoi of a colors—and the way landscape is suggested with
northern Ionian stamp. horizon lines, small trees adorned with festoons,
The Tomb of the Hunter, also called the and a deer grazing behind the transparent, deli-
Tomb of the Hunting Pavilion (del Padiglione di cately patterned curtains, whose wavy hemlines
Caccia), from the period around 510/500, exhibits suggest that they are swaying in the wind. This is a
great originality; it is not attributed to any specific distinctly innovative feature that expands the rela-

tively small chamber in an almost illusionistic German Archaeological Institute in Rome, give us
manner. Hung against the walls are wreaths, gar- a good idea of many of their details, which have
lands, hunting caps, and slain quarry. The idea of either been lost or are only barely visible. They are
the hunt, a typical indication of aristocratic status, divided into two friezes, a smaller light-ground one
governed the very structure as well as the imagery above and a larger red-ground one below. In this
of this unusual tomb, which presents both old- they recall the transition phase in Attic vase paint-
fashioned and innovative features. ing from black-figure to red-figure technique. In
A highly important and innovative tomb the main frieze—for the first time in Tarquinian
from the waning Archaic period around 490/480 is tomb painting—we see a banquet with three cou-
the Tomb of the Bigas, which was recently the sub- ples reclining on couches (back wall) and dancers
ject of a more careful study by R. Benassai. Its and musicians (on the side walls) regularly posi-
paintings have been detached and are now on dis- tioned between trees—just as in the Tomb of the
play in Tarquinia’s Museo Archeologico. Ruspi’s Kithara Player, which no longer survives. This
facsimiles from the 1830s, in the archive of the iconography and arrangement would be repeated
in numerous tomb paintings from the following Euthymides, Epiktetos, Phintias, and Nikoxenos Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bigas, back wall: section of
decades. The back-wall gable is filled with a large Painter—from the turn from the sixth to the fifth the small frieze with athletes and the large frieze
with a banqueting scene (original and nineteenth-
krater with reclining symposiasts. The more inno- century. A number of archaeologists choose to
century lucido by Carlo Ruspi), ca. 490 ..
vative but smaller, multifigure frieze is of greater believe that the outstanding painter of this tomb
interest. It depicts various disciplines practiced in was a Greek metic.
the Greek palaestra (athletic grounds), with ath- A small Late Archaic chest-shaped urn with
letes, trainers, judges, horses, bigas, and warriors in animals’ feet from Tarquinia that was documented
an armed dance. There is also a scene of worship in watercolors by Gregorio Mariani in the late
before a cult image, possibly Hermes Enagonios as nineteenth century is altogether unique. Both in
patron of the palaestra rites, and lively spectators style and subject matter, its painted decoration
seated on bleachers. Among these are figures seen compares favorably with contemporary Tarquinian
from the back and in three-quarter view rendered tomb painting. It is especially reminiscent of the
with foreshortening. Of interest sociologically are Tomb of the Baron from the closing sixth century.
the servants or slaves shown lounging beneath the On the long side are two naked youths flanking a
bleachers, some in indecent poses. In subject mat- horse and laurel trees or rosettes; each of the nar-
ter and style the Tomb of the Bigas, though still row ends has a painting of a black horse and botan-
clearly in the Late Archaic tradition, betrays ical ornaments in the gable.
influences of early Attic red-figure vase painting— A group of a dozen or so Late and Sub-
like that of such masters as Euphronios, Archaic tomb paintings in Chiusi, dating from the

p. 105
Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, left wall of
the back chamber: detail of the seascape with rocks
and diver, ca. 510 ..
pp. 106–7
Tarquinia, Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, back wall of
the back chamber: detail of the seascape with boat,
fishermen, and water birds, ca. 510 ..
pp. 108–9
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Olympic Games: section of
the right wall with discus thrower, ca. 610 ..
pp. 110–11
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Olympic Games: section
of the right wall with two runners in a footrace,
ca. 510 ..
p. 113
p. 112
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Hunter: section of the back
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Olympic Games: section of
wall with animal frieze in imitation of textiles and
the right wall with masked Phersu, ca. 510 ..
strung-up kill from a hunt, ca. 510/500 ..
pp. 114–15
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Whipping, right portion of
the right wall: erotic scene with two men caning a
woman, ca. 490 ..
p. 117
p. 116 Chiusi, Tomb of the Casuccini Hill, main chamber:
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Whipping, entry wall: boxers section of the back wall with referee between
to the left of the door, ca. 490 .. competing athletes, second quarter of the fifth
century ..
pp. 118–19
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bigas, right wall: section of the
large red-ground frieze with a female aulos player and
a male dancer in a grove of small trees, ca. 490 ..
p. 120
Chiusi, Tomb of the Monkey, back wall of the main
chamber: right section of the frieze with boy, spear
thrower, and boxer, ca. 480 ..
first decades of the fifth century, also reflects a often based on older drawings and watercolors. Chiusi, Tomb of the Monkey, back wall of the main
strong Tarquinian influence both in style and Only the Tomb of the Monkey, the Tomb of the chamber: left-hand portion of the frieze with
athletic games, referee, and small ape crouched in a
iconography. It is possible that relatively provincial Casuccini Hill, and the Tomb of the Lion (del
shrub (original and nineteenth-century watercolor
Chiusan tomb painting, coming somewhat later, Leone) still have wall frescoes, some of them
by G. Angelelli), ca. 480 ..
developed largely because workshops from recently restored. These are multichamber tombs,
Tarquinia had resettled there. In any case, it did not some with a cruciform ground plan. Their painted
flourish for long. Its familiar subjects—banquets, coffered ceilings, apparently in imitation of
music, dancing, and athletic competitions, includ- wooden models, are unique to Chiusi. The best-
ing chariot races—are clearly derived from known of them is the Tomb of the Monkey, a four-
Tarqinian tomb painting (one thinks of the Tombs chamber tomb from the period around 480 that
of the Jugglers, the Olympic Games, and the Bigas, takes its name from the depiction of a small ape
and the Cardarelli Tomb) and are also found in crouching in a bush, an exotic curiosity possibly
contemporary Chiusan cippus (inscribed markers) derived from Phoenician art. The veiled noble-
and urn reliefs. Unfortunately, most of the Chiusan woman seated beneath an umbrella is probably the
tomb paintings, which were presented in a valuable deceased, who is attending—like the tomb owner
monograph by R. Bianchi Bandinelli in 1925, no seated on a folding chair in Tarquinia’s Tomb of the
longer survive, so that our knowledge of them is Jugglers—the funeral games taking place in her
Left: Chiusi, Tomb of the Monkey, main chamber:

right wall with armed dancer and scene with
horsemen, ca. 480 ..
Right: Chiusi, Tomb of the Monkey, back chamber:

painted coffered ceiling with Sirens, ca. 480 ..

Left: Chiusi, Tomb of the Casuccini Hill, right wall
of the main chamber: biga and cupbearers, second
quarter of the fifth century ..
Right: Chiusi, Tomb of the Casuccini Hill, back wall

of the main chamber: detail with female dancer,
aulos player, and athlete, second quarter of the fifth
century ..
honor, complete with musicians, athletes, and published by A. Rastrelli can also be included in
acrobatics. Two boxers recall the pugilists in this Late Archaic Chiusan group. Judging from its
Tarquinian tombs, such as those on the entry wall grave goods, it was used from the end of the sixth
of the Cardarelli Tomb. The ceiling coffers include century until the second half of the fourth century.
paintings of a Gorgoneion and winged Sirens. In In one of its five loculi for cremation burials is a
the somewhat later Tomb of the Casuccini Hill, the dark-red profile head of a bearded man, not espe-
banquet scenes, dancers and musicians, athletic cially high-quality, with distinctly Ionian, Late
contests, armed warriors’ dance, and chariot races Archaic features. This loculus, framed by a Doric
are clearly in the Tarquinian tradition, though style door, was probably reserved for the tomb’s
obviously not of the same high quality. Of the main occupant. There are also fragments of a
tombs that have not survived, the Tomb of the Hill painting of four horses, perhaps a quadriga. The
of the Moro (Tomba di Poggio al Moro) is particu- paintings in this Sarteano tomb are somewhat
larly outstanding. Its paintings presented various older than most of the Chiusan tombs with wall
athletic disciplines and a spectacular chariot-racing paintings.
accident, much as in the Tomb of the Olympic Painted clay plaques, called pinakes, most of
Games in Tarquinia. Others worthy of mention are them discovered in Cerveteri, both in the city area
the Tomb of the Hunt (della Caccia, with a hare and the necropolises, are important for the history
hunt), the Montollo Tomb (with athletic contests, of Archaic Etruscan painting. They probably corre-
games, and dancing scenes), the Tomb of Orpheus spond to the Greek leukomata, plastered and
and Euridice (di Orfeo ed Euridice, with a banquet painted panels of wood or clay. The various sites
and circle dancers), the Paccianesi Tomb, the where they have been found clearly indicate that
Paolozzi Tomb (with riding competitions), the such pinakes, originally mounted in rows, adorned
Tomb of Poggio Gaiella, and the Tomb of the Well not only the walls of chamber tombs but also tem-
at Poggio Renzo (del Pozzo a Poggio Renzo, with ples (as in Veii and Falerii Veteres as well), aristo-
an animal gable). cratic houses, and possibly public buildings. Pliny
A chamber tomb (Tomb 13) with fragments refers to this in his Natural History (35.17–18),
of wall painting that was discovered in the late though he only specifically mentions Caere and
1990s in the Palazzina necropolis near Sarteano and cities in Latium. Apparently in many instances the

artists were both plastae and pictores, or sculptors Paris, and Herakles—the last-named on poly-
and painters, and between 570 and 500 they also chrome terracotta frieze panels from Acquarossa—
produced, especially in Cerveteri, numerous poly- were certainly seen as role models by Etruria’s
chrome architectural terracottas. This was certainly princes. Among the older series are the “Gorgon”
true of the two artists Damophilos and Gorgasos, and “Boccanera” plaques, which reveal mainly
probably from Magna Graecia, whose activity in Corinthian and Ionian-Chios influences; outstand-
the temple of the Aventine triad Ceres, Liber, and ing among the younger series are the “Campana”
Libera is attested in Rome in 484, for they were des- plaques.
ignated “plastae laudatissimi…iidem pictores.” One In 1940 a group of clay plaques, some of
must remember that at this same time in Athens them fragmentary, was discovered within the
the famous potter and vase painter Exekias was precincts of ancient Cerveteri. They had apparently
producing pinakes for use in tombs in the decorated a building of a nonsepulchral nature.
Kerameikos cemetery. Originally roughly 1.40 meters tall and 54–56 cen-
The best study on these pinakes, which first timeters wide, they are relatively heavy, and in their
appear around 570 and end with the sixth century, original installation they must have stood on the
is F. Roncalli’s Le lastre dipinte da Cerveteri (1965). floor. Their paintings are executed in simple white
The most important examples are now found and black on a dark-red ground, over preliminary
mainly in London (British Museum), Paris incising. The group takes its name from its main
(Louvre), Berlin (Pergamonmuseum), Rome image of the Gorgons and Perseus. Its coloring and
(Museo di Villa Giulia), and Cerveteri (Museo iconography recall Corinthian and Etrusco-
Archeologico). Some examples are of uncertain Corinthian ceramics of the Polychrome style.
provenance, and possibly forgeries, such as the one Five painted plaques, now preserved in the
below from an American private collection. Several British Museum and known as the Boccanera
groups can be distinguished chronologically and by plaques, were discovered in 1874 in a small chamber
workshop. Their subject matter, probably pre- tomb in the Banditaccia necropolis. They present a
sented in continuous friezes composed of multiple frieze in palisade form across the bottom with red
panels, is often mythological, but not always easy to and white vertical stripes, a main figural frieze, and
interpret. The mythical Greek heroes of royal or a narrow upper frieze of a three-strand braid. They
semi-divine stature depicted on them, like Perseus, depict two opposing sphinxes plus two male and
American private collection: fragment of a painted

Caeretan clay plaque from the second half of the
sixth century ..

seven female figures whose identification is dis- Cerveteri; the majority of them are now in Berlin.
puted. They could represent a funeral procession, a They present Ionian stylistic features and are
scene from the cult of the dead, or a mythological directly associated with the Caeretan Hydriae
scene such as the Judgment of Paris. The two men, workshop, especially the plaque with a fragmentary
on the left, are characterized as priests, probably a welcoming or departure scene with a man and a
haruspex and an augur. Some of the women are woman and birds soaring above. Fragmentary
carrying pomegranate branches; two on the right painted plaques with depictions of warriors have
are presenting a pyxis and two alabastrons to a also been discovered in the area of Cerveteri’s
higher-ranking female figure, possibly a goddess. Hera shrine.
These plaques from the second quarter of the sixth The group of painted plaques from the
century represent an idiom similar to that of the precinct of Veii’s Portonaccio temple also had a
terracotta frieze of the younger palace at Murlo. sacred function. Possibly arranged in several rows,
The Campana plaques are of a later date, one above the other, these are decorated with a
namely the second quarter of the sixth century. slightly raised palmette frieze and in the main sec-
They were discovered in a chamber tomb in the tion with battle scenes and landscapes that already
Banditaccia necropolis by Marchese G. P. Campana reveal Attic influences.
in 1845, and are now in the Louvre in Paris. They Of course vase painting from the Archaic
are topped by a projecting frieze with a tongue period also provides us with a number of clues
design. Certain structural details suggest that these about the history of Etruscan painting in this
plaques had adorned some other space, perhaps vitally important and fertile epoch. It is necessary
even the dwelling of the deceased, before they to distinguish three kinds of painted vases: vases
found a second and final home in the tomb. They imported from the Greek world, vases produced by
present a row of men approaching an altar on Greek potters and vase painters who had immi-
which a fire is burning and behind which a small grated to Etruria, and vessels produced by the
column supports a large lebes. Approaching from Etruscans themselves. Vases in the black-figure
the other side are two men: the first is bearded and technique were imported into Etruria in the sixth
carries a bow and arrow, the second has wings and century, at first into the Etruscan coastal centers,
carries a woman in his arms. Perhaps this is some but were later traded into inland Etruria, from
mythological scene such as the sacrifice of either Corinth, Laconia (Sparta), the Chalcidic centers
Iphigenia, under the direction of Apollo, or (Euboea and southern Italy), from the Ionian east,
Polyxena. Or it could be that a winged demon is including various islands such as Samos and Chios,
accompanying a dead woman into the underworld. and especially from Athens. Beginning in the mid-
In addition, there are two elderly male worthies sixth century, imports of vases from Attica clearly
seated on folding chairs, one of them holding a dominated the Etruscan market. Among these are
scepter onto which a small winged female figure is numerous examples of outstanding quality from
about to alight. The style is now distinctly Ionian the hands of famous potters and vase painters,
and can be associated with the Master of the some of whose names we know from signatures. In
Caeretan Hydriae and his workshop. Etruria, where they were used in the houses of the
Another small group of painted plaques was wealthy aristocracy—especially at banquets—and
excavated by R. Mengarelli in the tomb under later accompanied their deceased owners into
Tumulus X in the section called “of the Painted tomb chambers as grave goods, these vases were
Tiles” (della tegola dipinta) of the Banditaccia not only valued for themselves, but also inspired
necropolis, and yet another discovered in 1963 in Etruscan potters with new vessel shapes, new firing
the Quartaccio area at Ceri. There, as in temple and painting techniques, and especially new sub-
architecture, a meander frieze with birds and ject matter—mostly mythological in nature. It may
rosettes appears at the top, and on the main frieze a seem odd that it is not Greece’s cities and tombs,
warrior with helmet, lance, and cardiophylax but rather the chamber tombs of the Etruscans—
(breastplate). especially those of Vulci—that have yielded by far
Another group consisting of a large number the richest finds of Greek vessels, especially Attic
of painted-clay plaque fragments and various vases. This is partly because of the Etruscans’ habit
architectural terracottas came to light in the mid- of burying their dead in often elaborate chamber
nineteenth century near the Roman theater in tombs, but it also attests to the economic strength

of Etruscans and the fondness of the upper class mostly nonfigural in nature. The most famous London, British Museum: five so-called Boccanera
(also perhaps elements of the middle class) for genre, which we may owe to one or more immi- plaques from Cerveteri with two opposing sphinxes
and a figural scene, possibly mythological
Greek vases. We now know that a number of Attic grant Ionian vase painters, is that of the Caeretan
(Judgment of Paris?), second quarter of the sixth
potters and vase painters, like the Tyrrhenian hydriae from the decades between 540 and 520,
century ..
Group of amphora painters and the workshop of which have been found almost exclusively in
Nikosthenes, worked almost exclusively for export Cerveteri and to whose study the Dutch archaeolo-
to the high-paying Etruscan market, and in many gist J. M. Hemelrijk has devoted himself. They are
respects—in the shapes and imagery of their distinguished by ornamental and botanical decora-
vessels—adapted themselves to the tastes of their tion on their neck, shoulder, and foot, and figural
buyers. Many of the famous Attic masters, such as depictions mostly on mythological subjects, like
Sophilos, Kleitias, Ergotimos, Lydos, Exekias, the the blinding of Polyphemus, the rape of Europa,
Amasis Painter, Psiax, and Andokides, are repre- and the battle between Herakles and Nessos, often
sented in Etruria. The same is true of the early with humorous touches, presented in strong colors
red-figure masters from the turn from the sixth to like black, white, and red. An exquisite example is
the fifth century, like Oltos, Epiktetos, Phintias, a hydria in the Louvre with Herakles and King
Euphronios, Euthymides, the Kleophrades Painter, Eurystheus, who in fear of Cerberus, the three-
the Berlin Painter, Onesimos, Brygos, Douris, headed hound of hell, has crawled into a large
Makron, and others. Their precious vessels, some pithos. Striking stylistic similarities between the
of them even repaired in Etruria, were surely not Caeretan hydriae and other Ionian painted vases
used every day, but only on special occasions— from Etruria and the earliest large-figure wall fres-
mainly at banquets. As grave goods they document coes in the chamber tombs of Tarquinia are not
the social position, economic power, and possibly absolute proof but a strong indication that the the-
even the level of culture of the deceased Etruscan. sis presented above is correct, and that some of the
The most distinguished students of black- highest-quality tomb paintings from the last three
figure vase painting from the Archaic period in decades of the sixth century were the work of
Etruria are J. D. Beazley, G. Camporeale, T. Dohrn, Ionian–Eastern-Greek painters.
A. Giuliano, L. Hannestad, J. M. Hemelrijk, M. Immigrant eastern Greek potters and vase
Martelli, N. J. Spivey, and H. Thiersch. painters created large-format vases for the Etruscan
Painted Ionian–Eastern-Greek vases—some elite, above all dinoi and hydriae. Stylistically, the
of them imported, some produced in the southern “Campana dinoi,” produced by a vase painter who
Etrurian coastal cities themselves, especially Vulci had emigrated to Cerveteri from the region
and Cerveteri, by immigrant Ionian potters and between Smyrna and Larissa, compare favorably
vase painters—were of particular importance for with the paintings in the Tomb of the Augurs and
Etruscan painting of the second half of the sixth the Tomb of the Lionesses. The female dancers in
century and the period around 500. The painting the Tomb of the Jugglers recall depictions on
on the imported vessels—frequently cups—is Caeretan hydriae; the noblewoman on the back

wall of the Tomb of the Baron has much in com- hoplites. The Tityos Painter, to whom L. Hannestad
mon with female figures on the Ricci Hydria (Villa has attributed twenty-five vases—divided into two
Giulia in Rome), a vessel of a distinctly northern groups—aimed for a more dynamic style, at times
Ionian stamp that M. Martelli has attributed to the at the expense of quality draftsmanship. Among his
painter of Louvre E 739. subjects mythological scenes clearly predominate,
Beginning in the mid-sixth century, the especially the various labors of Herakles and
Pontic Group of vessels, of which only a few exam- Achilles’ murder of Troilus. The depiction of a
ples are certain to have come from tombs (includ- running man with a wolf ’s head on a plate in
ing the Osteria necropolis in Vulci), was produced Rome’s Villa Giulia is a distinctly Etruscan subject;
in Vulci. These pieces are thought to have been exe- E. Simon associates it with the cult of Soranus, on
cuted by the Paris Painter, who was active from Monte Soratte north of Rome. The Painter of
roughly 550 to 520 and to whom we can attribute a Bibliothèque Nationale 178 was active in the
total of forty vessels, most of them in small format decades from 530 to 510 and frequently incorpo-
like amphorae, oinochoae, chalices, skyphoi, and rated animal figures into his purely decorative nar-
plates, which can be divided into three groups. rative scenes.
Their animated, colorful depictions are arranged in A few amphorae of more modest quality that
several friezes, one atop the other. In the beginning, were produced in Vulci by another contemporary
more complex narrative subjects, primarily mytho- northern Ionian vase painter comprise the
logical, predominate; in time the subject matter Northampton Group.
becomes more ordinary. The Paris Painter probably The Tolfa Group and the Ivy Leaf Group are
came from northern Ionia, as certain features point among the other important groups of vases from
to the region that includes Miletus, Clazomenae, the Late Archaic period. The Tolfa Group now
Rhodes, and Samos. His eclectic repertoire was nev- includes fifty-four vessels, the majority of them
ertheless wholly influenced by Attic iconography. long-necked amphorae. Most of them have been
Among his subjects we find the Judgment of Paris, found in Cerveteri, which leads us to conclude that
Theseus and the Minotaur, various labors of the workshop that produced them, active from
Herakles, the battle between Herakles and Juno roughly 530 to 510, was situated there. Their subject
Sospita (an Italian subject), Athena and Ares bat- matter includes galloping horsemen and riders of
tling the giants, the duel between Achilles and hippocampi, tritons, winged running figures, and
Hector, and other battle scenes, the warrior’s leave- zoomorphic elements, but only very few mythologi-
taking, hunts and banquets, animal fights, friezes cal scenes. Roughly fifty vases are now ascribed to
with animals and fantastic creatures, processions, the Ivy Leaf Group, mainly Type B amphorae. Their
centaurs or horsemen, and less frequently komos main subjects are running male and female figures
figures. The figural scenes generally adorn the carrying outsized ivy leaves, also animal figures and
shoulders of the vessels, animal and botanical fantastic creatures, Dionysian figures, and inter-
friezes the body of the vase. P. Ducati and T. Dohrn, twining serpents with apotropaic eyes. This group
and more recently L. Hannestad and A. Drukker, of vases, with its distinctly rigid style, reveals obvi-
have studied the rich œuvre of the Paris Painter. ous Attic influences, from the œuvres of the Amasis
Other representatives of the Pontic Group, in Painter and Nikosthenes, for example. The Painter
addition to the Paris Painter, are the Amphiaraos of Munich 833, active in Vulci from roughly 540 to
Painter, the Tityos Painter, the Painter of 520, stood very close to the Ivy Leaf Group, and only
Bibliothèque Nationale 178, and the Silenus Painter. occasionally attempted more complex subjects like
The Silenus Painter, active from roughly 530 to a symplegma (“grappling” maenads and satyrs) or
515/10, can be considered a direct pupil of the Paris warriors arming themselves.
Painter. Some thirty vases can be attributed to him. The Micali Painter, to whose workshop
He favored Dionysian subjects and figures, among roughly two hundred vases have by now been
them an enthroned Dionysos himself. The subjects attributed, is one of the chief figures of Late
chosen by the Amphiaraos Painter, to whom nine- Archaic Etruscan black-figure vase painting. He
teen vases can be ascribed, mainly include a rich was probably trained in northern Ionia and was
animal repertoire, but also several mythological active in Vulci in the last quarter of the sixth cen-
scenes, like the eponymous departure of tury. Influenced by large-format painting and
Amphiaraos, battle scenes, and phalanxes of Attic black-figure vase painting, he employs

incised drawing, however his vessels do not attain Also active in Vulci were the groups Munich
the technical quality of their Attic models in terms 892, Munich 883, and Vatican 265. They are prima-
of firing and glazes. His most common shapes are rily distinguished by palmettes and spirals as well
amphorae, hydriae, and stamnoi. The Micali as silhouetted figures like athletes, horsemen, war-
Painter’s workshop, which has even been the sub- riors, and symposiasts, less often gods and heroes.
ject of an exhibition, has been intensively studied They were inspired by Late Attic black-figure vase
by N. J. Spivey, who distinguishes five phases. Its painting from the last quarter of the sixth century
subjects are often purely decorative, and, along like that of the Leagros Group.
with a few mythological scenes and Dionysian Finally, vase workshops were also active in
figures, mainly feature winged fabulous beasts, Orvieto in the Late Archaic period. The Orvieto
some in heraldic poses, animal friezes, horsemen Group falls into three sub-groups. Animals and
and warriors, chariot races, and botanical orna- fantastic creatures and battle and hunting scenes
ments. The figures are often poorly proportioned. are the main subject matter. A stamnos in Florence
Included in the circle of the Micali Painter are the is worthy of particular interest for its depiction of
Painter of Vatican 238 (also called the Kaineus Epeios overseeing the building of the Trojan Horse
Painter), to whom we owe the famous hydria in and Greek didaskalia (instruction). The work of
Toledo, Ohio, depicting the metamorphosis of the Dancing Satyrs Painter falls in the period
Tyrrhenian pirates into dolphins (ca. 510–500), around 480. Production of black-figure vases in
Orvieto, Museo Faina: Etruscan black-figure
the Kyknos Painter, and the groups of “Kape Etruria then gradually ceased in the first decades
amphora by the Micali Painter from Vulci
Mukathesa,” Florence 80675, Orbetello, and of the fifth century. with depictions of horsemen and warriors,
Bisenzio. ca. 530/520 ..

Between Traditionalism
and Innovation
The Sub-Archaic and Classical Periods (– ..)
The period after 480 was a time of change and The situation in Etruria in the fifth century
transition in Etruria, one that unfolded in a very is so different that it makes little sense to use the
different way than it did in contemporary Greece. term “Etruscan Classicism.” At best we can speak
Around 490/480 in Greece, in part as a result of of Etruscan art of the Classical phase or, with
the Persian Wars, the Archaic period was sup- Tobias Dohrn, “Etruscan art of the interim
planted by the Classical period. Greek victories period.” For a long time after the waning of
over the Persians at Marathon and Salamis and Archaic art in Etruria, which had been so fertile
over the Phoenicians at Himera, in Sicily, were of and successful, the Etruscans did not manage to
earthshaking significance, and rang in a new era. appropriate and employ the magnificent advances
In the fifth century Greek art is generally divided of Classical art, either in the physical sense or
into Early Classicism or the Severe Style, High even remotely in the spiritual sense. The gap
Classicism, and the phase of the Rich Style. For between Etruscan art and the far more dynamic Above: Tarquinia, Francesca Giustiniani Tomb,
the Greek world Classicism was not only a new art and culture of Greece only widened, as back wall: detail of the gable with blue panther,
artistic epoch but also, especially in Athens and Etruria now played an increasingly peripheral middle to third quarter of the fifth century ..
Attica, the expression of a changing society, with role. Etruscan artists and craftsmen long contin-
Opposite page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium:
in part radical political changes—one thinks of ued to cling to Late and Sub-Archaic stylistic fea-
detail of the left wall with female dancer and small
the democracy of Pericles—religious changes, and tures and formulas, so that fifth-century Etruscan trees filled with birds, ca. 470 ..
new schools of philosophy (such as Sophism). art lagged considerably behind. It is frequently
Its art was shaped by such major figures as the difficult to date Etruscan art monuments from
painter Polygnotos of Thasos, the sculptors this period, including tomb paintings, with any
Phidias and Polykleitos, and the architect Iktinos, precision. It is only with the turn from the fifth to
with Athens clearly taking the lead. The most the fourth century that the last Archaic reminis-
superb and influential manifestations of this cences disappear and Classicism finally prevails
epoch, so crucial to European art history, are in Etruria as well, though still with a certain
Greek temples, which reached their zenith in time-lag. It is significant that these new, progres-
the Parthenon; statuary, especially in bronze sive trends—especially in larger and smaller
and marble works such as the Olympian Zeus sculpture—do not manifest themselves as much
of Phidias or the Doryphoros of Polykleitos; the in the once-powerful coastal centers as in inland
paintings of Polygnotos and his followers, Etruria, up the Tiber, in Veii, Falerii Veteres/Cività
which have been almost completely lost; and Castellana, Volsinii/ Orvieto, Chiusi, and Arezzo.
Attic red-figure vase painting, notably that of the The decades after 480/470, especially follow-
Penthesilea Painter and the Meidias Painter. Our ing the Etruscans’ bitter defeat at the hands of the
knowledge of Greek Classical culture and art is Syracusan Greeks in the sea-battle off Cumae in
considerably enriched by a number of literary 474, saw a gradual political and economic decline
sources and, with respect to sculpture, by count- in the coastal centers and harbor emporia of
less Roman copies. Accordingly, we know the southern Etruria, especially Gravisca. There is a
names of a number of the great masters and visible reduction in the number of Greek imports,
their pupils and workshops in the various Greek particularly Attic red-figure pottery, and the close
art centers. and direct contact with the Greek world begins to
BETWEEN TRADITIONALISM AND INNOVATION 129

wane. At the same time, and partly as a result, we Etruria Padana, with its centers Felsina/
can see a shifting of power to the interior, mainly Bologna, Spina (with a mixed population of
in the direction of Volsinii/Orvieto and Chiusi, Etruscans, Venetii, Umbrians, and Greeks, and
and of trading routes to the Adriatic. even its own treasury at Delphi), and Marzabotto
130 BETWEEN TRADITIONALISM AND INNOVATION

flourished; by contrast, Etruscan dominance in influenced by the painting of Attica, becomes
the south in Campania finally ended with the cap- increasingly standardized, presenting few new
ture of Capua by the Samnites. Institutionally, in or original ideas. Beginning around 490/480, it
most of the Etruscan city-states, the turn from the became the convention to devote the back wall to
sixth to the fifth century had seen a change from a banquet scene with three couches—generally
monarchy to oligarchy, and in the fifth century, klines with turned legs of the Greek type—or
often called the “age of crisis,” Etruscan society occasionally two and a kylikeion, showing men
was racked by social tensions and a crisis of the and women reclining at table and surrounded by
aristocracy, as new values led to ever greater mostly naked servant youths and flute-players
equality before the law. In terms of archaeology, wearing long himations. In a number of tombs,
these developments are evidenced by more stan- the banquet scene spills over onto one or both of
dardized and less imposing tomb architecture and the side walls, with the addition of a fourth or
grave goods, especially in the southern Etruscan even a fifth kline. In contrast to Greek custom,
coastal region. Worthy of special mention from especially as documented on Attic vase painting,
fifth-century stone sculpture are the tomb statues where we can trace the transition from black-
at Chiusi, carved of pietra fetida; among architec- figure banquets of the gods to red-figure every-
tural terracottas, the high-quality examples in day drinking sessions, the women depicted in
Pyrgi (Temple A), Orvieto (Belvedere Temple Etruscan banqueting scenes are aristocratic wives,
and the temple on Via San Leonardo), and Falerii not hetairai. The side walls generally feature male
Veteres/Cività Castellana; among reliefs, the grave and female dancers—most commonly a female
steles from Felsina; among bronze statues, the dancer with castanets wearing a white chiton, red
Mars of Todi, from an Orvietan workshop, and vest, and wide skirt—and musicians, mainly aulos
the famous Chimaera of Arezzo, discovered in and kithara players, regularly arranged between Above: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Cock, left wall:
the Renaissance; among bronze articles, the small trees, some of them with birds in perched detail with female dancer with krotala (clappers of
Spina candelabrum, decorated with figures, them. Instead of the earlier ecstatic komos antics wood or bone), ca. 400 ..
and especially the richly ornamented lamp of we now find more ceremonial circle dances. The
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards, back
Cortona. In works of art from the closing fifth tomb owner is no longer deliberately highlighted
wall: banqueting scene with three couples lounging
century, we finally see the triumph of the Greek in either the dancing or the banquet. The number
on klines and a heraldic pair of leopards in the
Classical style. of inscriptions decreases dramatically, an indica- gable, ca. 480 ..
But to return to our subject, namely tion that there was now considerably less empha-
Etruscan painting. For the fifth century our main sis on the individual personality than in the
source of information continues to be tomb Archaic period, which accords with what we know
painting. A fascinating indication that not only of the increasing uniformity within society. In
walls of tombs but the walls of buildings were addition to banquets, dancing, and music, the
painted with frescoes was the discovery of traces main subjects now presented are athletic disci-
of painting on the plaster of the interior walls of plines from the Greek palaestra—no longer the
Temple A at Pyrgi from the period around 470. whole range of activities but typical isolated
By far the most painted tombs from the fifth moments—and armed warrior dances from
century are again found in Tarquinia, though funeral games. Hunting scenes are now generally
their number clearly decreases after the middle restricted to the gable, where one also sees blue
of the century, just as the number of Tarquinian panthers or heraldic revelers—leftovers from Late
noble families was drastically reduced. The more Archaic drinking scenes. The gable repertoire is
provincial and more conservative tomb painting considerably more monotonous than it was in the
in Chiusi finally comes to an end in the second Archaic period. The readily apparent traditional-
quarter of the fifth century. The only other tomb ism of both clients and painters in the choice of
paintings from this period are in Grotte San subject matter and to some extent even in style
Stefano, north of Viterbo. Obviously tomb paint- can be explained in part as a reflection of
ing was altogether a far less widespread phenome- Etruscan conservatism in general with regard
non in the fifth century than in the Orientalizing to burial customs and the cult of the dead. The
and Archaic periods. ubiquitous banquets and related scenes show
With the beginning of the fifth century, tomb owners clinging to traditional aristocratic
Tarquinian tomb painting, now increasingly values, probably hoping to mask their loss of

political and economic power. To be sure, with appear in Tarquinia’s Tomb 4813, the Tomb of
wall paintings from the “Classical” phase, it is not the Maiden (della Pulcella), and the Tomb of the
always easy to distinguish between elements that Warrior. Underworld figures and the journey
are deliberately old-fashioned, intentional rever- into the hereafter are documented in Chiusan
sions to Late and Sub-Archaic features and those vase painting beginning in the mid-fifth century;
that reflect simple unthinking conventionalism. a krater presents a winged Vanth and Hermes/
In order to date a tomb as precisely as possible, it Turms as psychopompos (guide of souls into the
is important not to rely on the subject matter, the underworld). We already know winged creatures
overall style, or presumed historical conditions, from black-figure vases from Vulci.
but only on the latest datable feature, which pro- Innovation in the architecture of fifth-
vides a terminus post quem. This fundamental century tombs is minimal, primarily limited to
rule is not always followed, and in some cases specific features. Gable supports are often wider
scholars have arrived at dates that are obviously than before, and they can even be trapezoidal in
too early. Assigning dates to tomb paintings from form or framed by double volutes. At times only
the second half of the fifth century and the early the latter still allude to its original function as a
fourth century is notoriously difficult. For this support. At first the columen is still decorated
period, Attic red-figure vases and later red-figure with circles, the sloping ceiling with checkerboard
vase painting from southern Italy provide the designs; later the ceilings are predominantly
Top: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Funerary Bed: section
most useful stylistic comparisons. structured with dark red beams. In exceptional
of the continuous ivy frieze at the top of the walls,
ca. 460 ..
Over the course of the fifth century, instances the “architraves,” gable supports, and
especially toward its close, we also find radical columen are decorated with ivy tendrils. Striped
Bottom left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards: innovations in iconography relating to the under- friezes, serving as top and bottom borders for
section of the ceiling with colorful checkerboard world, with depictions of underworld features figural friezes, become simpler, generally limited
design, ca. 480 .. and figures such as demons of death. These to red, black, and white. In a few cases the bottom
images increase dramatically in the fourth cen- of the wall is still set off with a frieze of stylized
Bottom right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium:
tury, and some of them may have come from waves. Toward the end of the fifth century espe-
section of the lower part of the wall with wave
frieze and frieze of multiple stripes, ca. 470 .. Athens by way of the Adriatic, that is to say cially, rectangular loculi, sometimes framed,
through Spina into the Etruscan Padana and occasionally take the place of the earlier false
thence to Etruria proper. For example, we now doors. At times they take the form of aediculae
find depictions of the winged genius Thanatos, and are decorated with paintings emphasizing
the ferryman Charon with his oar, demons with the actual burial spot.
grotesque faces, and the netherworld journey on In the fifth century, as before, it is possible
horseback or in a chariot drawn by winged horses. to identify a few painting workshops, though
Significantly, these same subjects are typical of attributions are more difficult than in the preced-
Felsina grave steles dating from the second half ing Archaic period. There are no signatures
of the fifth century. One wonders to what extent of either painters or tomb owners. Once again,
such motifs reflect new notions about the here- attributions are mainly based on specific anti-
after and the possibility of continued existence quarian features and stylistic details, and special-
after death. Winged genii, for example, first ists do not necessarily agree on every point.

M. Torelli, for example, proposes the following Rhegion, and especially Polygnotos and Mikon Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards, right wall: left
workshop groupings: Tomb of the Black Sow and later Zeuxis and Parrhasios can be identified. section of the wall with komast and aulos and lyre
players, ca. 480 ..
(della Scrofa nera), Tomb of the Funerary Bed, The Tomb of the Leopards (dei Leopardi),
Tombs 5517 and 3697; Tomb of the Triclinium, from the years around 480/470, was discovered in
Tombs 994, 4255, and 4260; Tomb of the Deer 1875. It is widely known, not so much for of its
Hunt (della Caccia al Cervo) and the Maggi artistic quality, which is rather modest and does
Tomb; Tombs Querciola I, 6071, and 1560; possi- not approach that of the more graceful and
bly Tomb of the Maiden, Tombs 5513, 3716, 3713, sophisticated paintings in the Tomb of the Bigas
and Tomb of the Cock. According to C. Weber- and the Tomb of the Triclinium, but because its
Lehmann, the Tomb of the Triclinium, the Tomb relatively good state of preservation (especially
of the Funerary Bed, and Tombs 4021, 5513, and since the recent restoration), its lively coloring,
possibly 810 were executed by the same workshop, and its animated depictions rich with gestures.
utilizing Late Archaic elements as well as features It is named after the two large-scale, heraldic
of the Severe Style. That workshop was active in leopards flanking a small tree in the unsupported
Tarquinia for roughly a generation in the second gable of the back wall. The columen is orna-
quarter of the fifth century. The Tomb of the Deer mented with colorful circles, the sloping ceiling
Hunt and the Maggi Tomb, as well as the Tomb of with a checkerboard design. Its centerpiece is an
the Maiden, and Tombs 3716 and 3713, are the aristocratic banquet with three klines on the
work of others. back wall, with two women in attendance and
Although there was a certain decline and two naked cupbearers. Some of the richly dressed
tendency toward standardization after the Tomb symposiasts hold eggs and wreaths in their hands.
of the Bigas (ca. 490/480) discussed in the previ- On the right wall a procession of wreathed komos
ous chapter, there are a few outstanding, high- figures and musicians approaches the banquet;
quality tombs from the decades between 480 the left wall presents a more solemn, ceremonial
and 450 as well. They can be dated by comparison procession of six young musicians and gift-
to Attic red-figure vases, though virtually no bearers. Small trees suggest that all the scenes are
reflections of lost Greek monumental painting by set out of doors. Stylistically, the paintings of this
such masters as Damophilos of Himera, Sillax of tomb still have a number of Late Archaic features.

Tarquinia, Tomb 5513, back wall: banquet scene The highly animated hands of the aulos player on to the same circle and its successors. Both the
with two klines and kylikeion, ca. 450 .. the right wall are clearly out of proportion. From Tomb of the Triclinium and Tomb 5513 have virtu-
the point of view of technique, various incised ally the same compositional program, with an
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb 5513, right wall: left
lines that are still visible are of interest: in a num- animated banquet on the back wall that borrows
section of the wall with small servant, kithara
player, female dancer, and aulos player and small ber of places they do not correspond with the from Attic red-figure drinking scenes from the
trees filled with birds, ca. 450 .. paintings executed above them. In terms of qual- early fifth century. In the one in the Tomb of the
ity, it would appear that the left and right sides of Triclinium, interestingly enough, the third kline
the tomb were carried out by different hands. on the right, Greek in style with turned legs and
The paintings in one of the most famous of seen from the narrow end as on an Etruscan
all Etruscan tombs, the Tomb of the Triclinium, bronze mirror, is replaced in Tomb 5513 with a
from the period around 470, are clearly of higher kylikeion with vessels, a small three-legged table,
quality and more progressive. The Tomb of the and a naked cupbearer holding a strainer. In
Funerary Bed and several other well-known Tomb 5513 the female participants are all standing.
tombs, most notably Tomb 5513, can be attributed In both tombs, richly clad male and female

Tarquinia, Tomb of the
Triclinium, back wall:
banquet scene with three
klines (original and
nineteenth-century
lucido by Carlo Ruspi),
ca. 470 ..
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium, left wall: three dancers and musicians with animated gestures ing details that have been lost or are now scarcely
female dancers, a barbiton player, and a male appear on the side walls, in a grove of highly visible. The bottom of the wall is ornamented
dancer between small trees filled with birds
detailed small trees populated by birds. Some of with a frieze of waves, the sloping ceiling is cov-
(original and nineteenth-century lucido by
the figures, certain profile heads, the birds in the ered with colorful checkerboard design, and the
Carlo Ruspi), ca. 470 ..
grove, and the predatory cat that appears under columen, gable supports (flanked by symposi-
the left-hand kline in each case are virtually iden- asts), and “architrave” are covered with painted
tical, proving that the two tombs are products of a ivy, suggestive of the Dionysian sphere. The
single workshop. The intense turquoise of the gar- famous wall frescoes present balanced composi-
ments of some of the symposiasts in Tomb 5513 is tions executed with skilled draftsmanship, deli-
striking. Many elements suggest that this tomb cate gradations of pastel colors, foreshortening,
was painted somewhat later than the Tomb of the and mannered gestures. Especially successful is
Triclinium: the way the garments have been sim- the row of dancers on the side walls, character-
plified, the more elongated proportions, some of ized by dynamic, rhythmic movement, splendid
the bronze vessel types on the kylikeion, and the garments, expressive hand gestures, and at times
male heads, which except for the rendering of the ecstatic poses. Both the banquet on the back wall
eyes (which are still drawn frontally) now follow and the grove of trees on the side walls are
the pattern of Classical Attic red-figure vases. enlivened by the inclusion of a number of ani-
Also worth noting in Tomb 5513 is a recessed fossa mals. The two youths springing down from their
in the floor, which is decorated with a red frieze horses on the entry wall are either apobates or
of waves. perhaps a veiled allusion to the Dioscuri as inter-
The paintings of the Tomb of the mediaries between earthly life and the hereafter.
Triclinium were detached in 1949 and are now The influence of Attic red-figure vase painting—
displayed in Tarquinia’s Museo Archeologico. In from the circle of Brygos, Douris, Hieron,
addition, we have the exquisite facsimiles by Makron, and above all the Kleophrades Painter—
Carlo Ruspi, which are of great help in decipher- is unmistakable. A number of experts are con-

vinced that the painter of this important tomb women. In the front part of the tomb we find Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium, right wall:
was a Greek metic. dancers, musicians, and athletes engaged in three female dancers, an aulos player, and a male
dancer between small trees filled with birds
The same workshop painted the Tomb of discus-throwing, boxing—one boxer uses a
(original and nineteenth-century lucido by
the Funerary Bed, from the years around 460. It is sponge to catch blood dripping from his nose—
Carlo Ruspi), ca. 470 ..
distinguished by highly unusual iconography and the kalpe (horse race), and chariot-racing. The
outstanding quality, with exquisite drawing and young horseman on the right wall is especially
delicate coloring. In terms of style, the paintings, successful. On the entry wall are two riders and a
which were detached in 1953 and transferred to biga. There is thus a clear division between the
the Museo Archeologico in Tarquinia, recall Attic two sections of the tomb: the scenes in the front
red-figure vases like those of the painter Hieron. relate to the here and now, with features of actual
From bottom to top the walls present a tall, dark funeral festivities. The depictions in the back are
sea frieze with leaping dolphins, a frieze of stripes, of a wholly different character, highly symbolic
a relatively small-format figural frieze, and a and apparently to be understood as set in the here-
frieze of climbing ivy. The ivy on the “architraves” after. They symbolize either a deceased aristocratic
and columen is clearly reminiscent of the Tomb couple or a pair of divinities like the Dioscuri; in
of the Triclinium. The back part of the tomb is the latter case, we are dealing here with a theoxenia
structured as a festival tent or baldachin sup- or lectisternium, with the Dioscuri represented
ported by posts entwined with foliage, and it is aniconically, that is, as dokana in the style of
therefore unique in Etruscan tomb painting. The Etruscan tutuli. In either case the tomb occupants
back wall, including the gable, is dominated by a are heroicized. We have also seen possible indica-
large, empty bed reminiscent of a catafalque, with tions of a cult of the Dioscuri in other tombs, for
two light shrouds, two pillows, two wreaths, and example the Tomb of the Baron.
two conical caps resembling the pilos caps of the Tombs 4021 and 810 were also probably
Dioscuri. To the left and right of this bed are ban- painted by the Triclinium Workshop. Tomb 4021
queters, with the men segregated from the is distinguished by a large-format figural frieze

that presents only musicians and male and female not been ascribed to any particular workshop.
dancers with rich garments in animated move- Its wall frescoes were detached in 1959 and trans-
ment. The “architrave” is painted with a poly- ferred to the Museo Archeologico in Tarquinia.
chrome checkerboard design. It is mainly the Perhaps no other Tarquinian painted tomb has
ceiling decoration and columen of Tomb 810 that proven so difficult to date; scholars have placed it
tie it to the workshop responsible for the Tomb of anywhere from the first quarter of the fifth cen-
the Triclinium. tury to the middle of the fourth century. It now
A few less-well-known tombs like the Tomb seems most likely that it dates from around or
of the Little Flowers (dei Fiorellini) date from the soon after 450. Its paintings are distinguished by
second quarter of the fifth century. In this tomb balanced composition and delicate coloring. The
conventional subjects like a banquet (on the back predominant subjects are the traditional indica-
wall, with only one kline) and dancers in a grove tions of aristocratic status, a banquet and a hunt,
predominate. The large figures are placed rela- with attendant dancers and musicians. In many
tively far apart. The cockfight in the gable of the respects their style, especially that of the conven-
back wall is something new, a motif seen again tional, though very richly structured banquet,
only in the later Tomb of the Warrior. The sloping which extends with an additional kline onto each
ceiling is strewn with dark-red, three-petaled of the side walls, still seems Sub-Archaic. But
flowers on a light ground. The wall frescoes of there are also more forward-looking features
Tomb 994 are preserved only in fragments and like the eyes drawn in profile—a possibility in
include a banquet and dancing as well as reclining Etruscan art since the second quarter of the fifth
revelers in the gable of the back wall. Various century, but one not universally exploited—and
inscriptions, some only fragmentary, refer to the suggestions of perspective, for example in the
Varnie family that owned the tomb. We also find a numerous and richly varied depictions of ani-
banqueting scene, dancers, and an animal gable in mals (including dogs, cats, deer, and a variety of
Tomb 4813, as well as two winged youths, possibly birds) beneath the richly appointed klines and
genii with some symbolic funereal significance, an especially in the hunting scene in the back-wall
innovative and unusual feature. Banquet scenes gable. This hunting scene is like no other: a half-
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Funerary Bed, back wall:
large, richly furnished bed with baldachin
also predominate in Tomb 3988. naked hunter on the right, with an animal-hide
above, framed by women (left) and men (right), The Tomb of the Black Sow, to which jacket and clearly visible genitalia, is closing in
ca. 460 .. S. Stopponi devoted a monograph in 1983, has on a wild boar, which dominates the center

Funerary Bed, left wall:
section of the figural frieze
with armed dancer, female
dancer, aulos player, and
servant, ca. 460 ..

Funerary Bed, right wall:
section of the figural frieze
with two reclining men,
servant, and wounded boxer,
ca. 460 ..

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Black Sow, right wall:
section with deer and dog beneath a banquet kline,
ca. 450 .. or shortly thereafter.
of the scene, with a spear and several dogs. Another workshop active in Tarquinia
Rendered in three-quarter view from the back, around or shortly after the middle of the fifth cen-
he compares quite favorably with the figure of tury was responsible for the Tomb of the
Odysseus on the famous Attic red-figure cup Deer Hunt and the Maggi Tomb, which do not
from Spina, dating from roughly 450, by the approach the Triclinium workshop in quality. In
Penthesilea Painter. A small hunter with a short both tombs we find a three-kline banquet whose
cloak across his shoulders and a spear is joining symposiasts—a man and a woman on each
the action from the left. The only parallel to this couch—are gesturing animatedly on the back wall.
boar hunt is found in the later Querciola Tomb I. The naked cupbearers between the klines have
But even the way the gable support is only sug- elongated bodies and small heads. The side walls
gested, also the motif of the woman seated at the present dancers and musicians between small
foot end of the kline—one seen in Etruria only trees. The figures’ eyes are still rendered frontally
later in the fifth century in Chiusan urns with in the Archaic manner. Their hunting scenes, with
Classical stylistic features—would prevent us light figures against a dark-red ground, are very
from dating the tomb too early, in any case not similar. Each consists of a hunter, a dog, and a
before the middle of the fifth century. The “archi- stag, and both have two heraldic panthers flanking
traves” are decorated with a frieze of ivy as in the the gable supports; in one instance the nearly
Tomb of the Triclinium. identical motif appears to have been used again
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Black Sow, back wall:

section with a civet (?) beneath a banquet kline,
ca. 450 .. or shortly thereafter.

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Deer Hunt, back wall:
section with deer-hunting scene on a dark red-
ground gable support, around the middle of the
fifth century .. or shortly thereafter.
“flipped,” facing the opposite direction. The stag- by a large cliff covered with plants and a large-
hunt theme reappears in the fourth century in scale man—possibly the deceased—gazing down
Paestan tomb painting. A rarity in Tarquinian at the bustle in the harbor. The paintings were
tomb painting is the crude meander frieze above removed from the tomb walls shortly after their
the base of the walls in the Maggi Tomb. The very discovery in 1958 and are now displayed in
poorly preserved paintings in Tomb 4170 also Tarquinia’s Museo Archeologico. The harbor
compare favorably with this workshop group. scene is unique in Etruscan tomb painting, a true
The Tomb of the Ship, dating from the mid- megalograph (2.75 x 1.05 m) with impressive sug-
fifth century or soon afterward, was published in gestions of perspective and astonishing landscape
1961, shortly after it was discovered, in a mono- elements that some have thought must be based
graph by M. Moretti. It does not appear to have on Greek originals. Traditionally, it has been
been painted by any known workshop. Its paint- interpreted as a socioeconomic document, one
ings attracted particular attention from the begin- that underscores the tomb owner’s importance
ning, mainly because of a harbor scene on several and success as a shipping magnate. However
levels on the left wall, with a bay ringed by cliffs, a G. Colonna has recently chosen to read it in a
large, two-masted merchant ship with two rud- much more symbolic sense, as a depiction of the
ders, a crow’s nest and crew, and several other deceased’s journey across the sea and arrival in
smaller ships. This scene is bordered on the right the hereafter. He compares the characteristically
Tarquinia, Maggi Tomb, back wall: banqueting

scene with three klines and deer-hunting scene on a
dark red-ground gable support, around the middle
of the fifth century .. or shortly thereafter.

p. 145
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards, back wall: section
showing banqueters lounging on klines, cupbearer
with oinochoe, and pair of leopards in the gable,
ca. 480 ..
pp. 146–47
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Leopards, left wall: procession
of youths with instruments, drinking vessels, and
other objects, ca. 480 ..
p. 148 p. 149
Tarquinia, Tomb 5513, back wall: section with a Tarquinia, Tomb 5513, right wall: section with female
reclining male banqueter and his wife, ca. 450 .. dancer, ca. 450 ..
pp. 150–51
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium, right wall: right
section of the wall with male and female dancers
between small trees, ca. 470 ..
p. 152
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Triclinium: detail of the
columen with ivy, ca. 470 ..
steep, seemingly stylized bright cliffs, for which the Ship include a mixture of Archaicizing ele-
there are precedents in the Tomb of Hunting and ments and those that are definitely Classical, such
Fishing (painted two generations earlier), with as the flared skirt in perspective. The banquet and
actual sea cliffs, like those of Canna off the adjacent dancing scenes with the typically elon-
Liparian island of Filicudi. To his thinking, the gated serving figures are more conventional, even
banqueting and dancing scenes on the back wall old-fashioned, whereas the scene of the bay with
and portions of the side walls, with a total of cliffs and ships is highly innovative. It differs
fourteen figures, four klines, and a kylikeion with radically from the seascapes in the Late Archaic
vessels, some of them painted, and cups sus- Tomb of Hunting and Fishing from a good half-
pended above, are taking place in the afterlife in century earlier. The footrests among the klines,
the company of ancestors, as in later Tarquinian with curved animal feet and sandals placed on
and Orvietan tomb paintings from the fourth them, are an interesting antiquarian detail.
century. Reclining symposiasts are also depicted The merchant ship is one of the best and most
in the gables. The wall frescoes of the Tomb of detailed Etruscan ship depictions, its type—
Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Ship, left wall:

section with harbor and two-masted ship,
around the middle of the fifth century .. or
shortly thereafter.
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Ship, left wall:

drawing (after G. Colonna) of the left wall with
harbor and kylikeion, around the middle of the
fifth century .. or shortly thereafter.

though normally not two-masted—having been Tomb of the Pygmies (dei Pigmei) and in south- Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Ship, left wall:
documented on Greek vases since the Late ern Italian and Etruscan Faliscan red-figure vase right section with servant, kylikeion, and kithara
player, around the middle of the fifth century ..
Archaic period. painting. The larger upper frieze, consisting of a
or shortly thereafter.
The Francesca Giustiniani Tomb, from the banqueting scene with dancers and musicians, is
third quarter of the fifth century, was named after altogether traditional. The three-kline banquet on
a noblewoman. Its back wall is taken up by a cele- the back wall—with a couple apparently kissing,
bratory large-format figural frieze in unusually cupbearers, and kottabos players—extends onto
strong colors, which includes a biga with a chari- one of the side walls with a fourth kline, and onto
oteer, an aulos player, a richly dressed female the other with a kylikeion. A warrior with a biga
dancer in a flared skirt adorned with a diadem, is depicted in the middle of the entry wall. The
necklace, and bracelets, and a male dancer in a smaller lower frieze appears to be more innovative
bright blue cloak. The biga could be an allusion and animated; it includes hunting scenes, includ-
to the journey into the hereafter. The gable is still ing a boar hunt, and a chariot race with hints of
structured with a dark-red gable support, this perspective, all enlivened with numerous land-
time flanked by two blue panthers. On the left scape elements. In the gable the support is merely
wall are athletic games, on the right wall dancing suggested by a pair of volute ornaments, between
scenes with no trace of landscape features like which two warriors approach each other leading
small trees. their horses. The usual heraldic blue panthers
Querciola I, a large tomb with extremely adorn the spandrels. The precise reconstruction
high walls, is relatively difficult to interpret, par- and interpretation of specific scenes is disputed.
ticularly since its paintings—especially the lower J. R. Jannot sees in the iconography a deliberate
ones—are badly damaged. In reconstructing it, allusion to the major importance of the ordo
Ruspi’s watercolor sketches from the 1830s are equestris and/or the cult of the Dioscuri. Because
extremely helpful. The wall frescoes are divided of the eclectic nature of the paintings, a wide
into two continuous figural friezes, one above the range of dates for the tomb have been proposed,
other, and a base zone somewhat like those in the anywhere from the second quarter of the fifth
Tarquinia, Francesca Giustiniani Tomb: back wall

with harnessed biga, female aulos player, female
and male dancers, middle to third quarter of the
fifth century ..

Tarquinia, Querciola Tomb I:
nineteenth-century watercolor
by Carlo Ruspi of the back wall,
the entry wall, and the two side
walls with banqueting, music
and dancing, and hunting scenes,
end of the fifth century ..
century to the middle of the fourth century. A bearer, which after detours through Switzerland
date near the close of the fifth century now seems and Germany was fortunately returned to
most convincing. Tarquinia and is now displayed in its Museo
The relatively small Tomb of the Maiden Archeologico.
(della Pulcella), from the late fifth century, is dis- Tomb 3713, whose walls present only large-
tinguished by a very long rock-cut dromos (pas- scale male and female dancers in a grove with
sageway) and an architecturally structured and small branching trees, stands in the tradition of
painted loculus for a cremation burial in the cen- the Tomb of the Maiden. Red tones clearly pre-
ter of the back wall. This loculus takes the form of dominate in these eclectic paintings. Whereas the
a naiskos, or small funerary temple, with Tuscan profile heads still present Archaizing and Early
columns and suggested architectural terracottas Classical features, there are already influences of
like a palmette akroterion and a columen High Classicism and the Rich Style in the trans-
antepagment with a Gorgoneion, apparently parent chitons beneath heavy, dark-red cloaks, in
heroicizing the deceased. This unique loculus is many of the drapery designs with realistic wavy
flanked outside by musicians playing a kithara bands, and in the poses of the female dancers’
and a flute. The painting inside on its back wall, legs. The crossed-leg motif of the center dancer
Tarquinia, Querciola Tomb I: back wall with
however, presents a most unusual and innovative on the back wall is clearly post-Archaic, seen else-
remnants of a banqueting scene, end of the fifth
subject, possibly Attic in origin, with apparent where in Etruscan art only in the fourth century.
century ..
symbolic significance in this sepulchral context. The sloping ceilings on either side of the columen
It shows two winged and naked youths—either are painted in imitation of architecture, with
demons or, more likely, genii like the Greek dark-red beams. Tomb 3716 could have been exe-
Hypnos and Thanatos—spreading out a large cuted by the same workshop group, owing to sim-
cloth as though above the burial place. On the ilarities in the loculi, the ceiling surfaces, and the
side walls are traditional banquet scenes with small trees. Here the “architrave” takes the form of
especially richly appointed klines. Several of the a crenellated meander.
symposiasts are holding such attributes as eggs, The Tomb of the Cock, which takes its name
lyres, and metal bowls. The incised preliminary from the two roosters in the gable of the entry
drawing has frequently been corrected. Tomb rob- wall, also dates from the period around 400. It
bers destroyed most of the paintings on the left presents one architectural innovation: it has a
wall in the 1960s. They cut out the head of a cup- loculus in its left wall. The paintings feature
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Maiden, back wall:

aedicula-like loculus with Gorgoneion, flanked
by kithara and aulos players, end of the fifth
century ..

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Maiden: left wall with
banquet scene, end of the fifth century ..
scenes of banqueting, dancing, and music-making. altogether convincing—would suggest a some-

The conventional banqueting scene, with three what later dating. This figure is flanked by a flute
couples reclining on klines and naked cupbearers, player and a Phersu with the typical bearded mask
has here been shifted to the right wall. The paint- and a short, spotted fur jacket. In contrast to the
ings are distinguished by large, somewhat stiff cruel role he plays in the Late Archaic depictions
figures in vivid colors, some of them overly elon- in the Tomb of the Augurs and the Tomb of the
gated, borrowing from Late Archaic and Early Olympic Games, here he functions simply as a
Classical styles. Aside from the loculus, the ren- dancer and mime.
dering of the billowing skirt of the female dancer There is a whole series of other tombs, some
with castanets on the left wall—admittedly not rather unimportant and often poorly preserved,
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Cock, entry wall: kithara

and aulos players flanking the door, bird and
rooster in the gable spandrels, ca. 400 ..

dating from the close of the fifth century and The Tomb of the Gorgoneion is distin-
probably the first decades of the fourth century. guished architecturally by a low continuous
Among them are the Tomb of the Gorgoneion, bench. Instead of a gable support, it presents a
the Tomb of the Warrior, and the Tomb of the Gorgoneion—surely apotropaic or of symbolic
Pygmies, which will be discussed separately, as sepulchral significance—in the center of the
well as Tomb 808 (with a banquet of the eastern gable, flanked by two large dark-red, spiral-
Greek type in which the man lies on a kline and shaped palmette-volutes, which had not yet been
the woman sits on a chair, with a basin on a pillar documented in the fifth century but also appear
and a continuous crenellated meander frieze in the roughly contemporary Tomb 808 and, in
above), Tomb 1144 (with a loculus and spiral combination with the Gorgoneion, in Apulian
ornaments in the gable as in the Tomb of the vase painting as well as on Etruscan sarcophagi
Gorgoneion and Tomb 808), Tomb 1200 (with a and urns generally of a later date. A Gorgoneion
loculus and two pictorial friezes, one above the also adorns the columen antepagment of the
other, as in the Querciola Tomb I, including a aedicula-shaped loculus in the already discussed
banquet, dancing, and teams of chariot horses), Tomb of the Maiden, and in other cultural
Tomb 1560 (a four-chamber tomb with large-scale regions the gables of the Daunian Tomb of the
musicians and dancers and a gable support indi- Medusa in Arpi, the Cristallini Hypogeum in
cated only by double volutes, with two youths Naples, and the naiskos in the famous Thracian
with reined horses reminiscent of the gable of the Caryatid Tomb at Sveshtari, all of which, to be
Querciola Tomb I), Tomb 1822 (with three loculi, sure, date from Early Hellenistic times. The Tomb
the one in the back wall in the form of an aedic- of the Gorgoneion omits the traditional scenes of
ula), Tomb 2015 (with a large-scale frieze of banqueting, dancing, and music-making; instead,
dancers and musicians), Tomb 3697 (a small tomb its walls depict a grove of delicate, widely spaced
with a low continuous bench as in the Tomb of small trees with occasional birds in them. The
the Warrior and a two-kline banquet on the back only figures are a pair of youths with crooks on
wall), Tomb 5517 (with a banquet scene in the the back wall, apparently in conversation. This
gable and a large-figure frieze that includes a motif is frequently seen on Attic and southern
dance of armed warriors), and Tomb 6071 Italian red-figure vases from the fifth and fourth
(with scenes of banqueting, dancing, and centuries. The somewhat stiff, wooden figures are
music-making). elongated and similar to those of the Tomb 808.
Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Pygmies, left wall:

procession of four horsemen with veiled heads,
above the loculus a Geranomachy and krater,
beginning of the fourth century ..
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Pygmies, right

side of the entry wall: small trees and horseman,
blue panther in the gable spandrel above, beginning
of the fourth century ..

Architecturally, the Tomb of the Warrior, more innovative. The inscribed preliminary draw-
with its low continuous bench and wide relief col- ings are still visible. On the back wall there may
umen, is closest to the Tomb of the Gorgoneion. have been a second, smaller frieze at the bottom,
Some have dated it to the first half, or even the structured like the one in the Querciola Tomb I.
middle, of the fourth century. A banquet scene The back wall is filled with a four-kline banquet
with two couples reposing on klines amid their scene with male participants and servants, while
servants dominates the back wall; on the left there the left wall presents a solemn funeral procession,
is a kylikeion with large-format vases suggestive of with three pairs of men and women on horseback,
Attic, southern Italian, and Etruscan shapes that the latter capite velato (veiled). This could also
mostly date from the fourth century. Additional be interpreted symbolically as a journey into
subjects are dancers, musicians, boxers, discus and the hereafter. Above the left-hand loculus is the
spear throwers, armed dancers, and a highly origi- unusual scene that gives the tomb its name, a
nal team of acrobats. The unsupported gable of Geranomachy—a battle between pygmies and
the back wall presents a cockfight with flanking cranes—in a rocky landscape. It depicts five dif-
heraldic panthers. The large-format figures are ferent clusters of warring pygmies and cranes, the
somewhat cursorily drawn and present eclectic cranes generally being presented as the victors.
stylistic features, but they do exhibit a few notable The pygmies’ helmets and weapons are rendered
innovations, especially with regard to the heads with chiaroscuro effects. The scene is unique in
and eyes in profile. There are also isolated Etruscan tomb painting and may have been pat-
attempts at perspective. An iconographic novelty terned after a Greek original. At first glance it
is the flying genius, a small naked figure with blue seems humorous, but it doubtless conveyed some
wings, in the gable of the entry wall, which some- sort of death symbolism. In the fourth century
what resembles the two winged creatures in the we find the motif of the Geranomachy, which had
loculus of the Tomb of the Maiden. been known since Homer, on Boeotian Kabeiric
Tombs 2327 (Bertazzoni) and 3242 (dei vases, in tomb paintings in Paestum and southern
Loculi) are most notable for their three loculi; Russia, and on red-figure Volterran kelebai, which
they have frequently been dated to the beginning were mostly used as urns. In the loculus itself are
fourth century. The paintings in Tomb 2327 are painted a youth and two trees, and there are traces
unfortunately heavily damaged and are mostly of additional male figures and small trees. The
concentrated around the three loculi, each framed large krater immediately to the right can be seen
as a Doric style door. It is possible to make out as the sema (grave marker) for the loculus, but
fragments of banqueting scenes and checkerboard- more likely it goes with the banquet on the back
design ceilings. The walls are adorned with musi- wall. On the right wall, once again, is a procession
cians and dancers. The traces of painting in the with some of the figures veiled and with small
gable are possibly from a hunting scene. Tomb trees. Among the figures is an apparitor carrying
3242 is very close to Tomb 2327 in its architecture three rods, and there are possible traces of an
and the arrangement of its paintings. Once again inscription. This is apparently a magistrate’s pro-
we find three loculi painted with figures. In the cession like the one on the entry wall of the later
loculi and on the walls, there are only depictions Tomb of the Shields (degli Scudi). Above the
of dancers, musicians, and dancing armed war- loculus is another small frieze with traces of
riors between small trees. The gable of the loculus figures, including two men in three-quarter view
in the back wall, which takes the form of an seated on stools, and some kind of animal. There
aedicula, is decorated with dark-red spirals, much are only a few traces of painting in the loculus
as in the Tomb of the Gorgoneion and Tombs 808 itself. The gable of the entry wall is adorned with
and 1144. panthers, the rear-wall gable with a hippocampus
The highly original Tomb of the Pygmies, and small figures.
recently studied by M. Harari, dates from the The Tomb of the Biclinium (del Biclinio)
period around 400 or shortly afterward. This rela- is an unusual case. For a long time its dating
tive large tomb has two loculi in the rear sections swerved back and forth between the second quar-
of the side walls. The paintings, in part very ter of the fifth century to the middle of the fourth
poorly preserved, are in some respects more con- century. Today, though it no longer survives, it
servative in style and subject matter, in others can be securely dated to the middle or third

quarter of the fifth century, largely thanks to rely on early watercolors by E. Stefani. The paint-
the research of the Polish archaeologist W. ings are mainly concentrated in the main center
Dobrowolski. Our knowledge of its wall frescoes chamber and include such scenes as a banquet,
is entirely based on the Smuglewicz drawings dancing, and athletic games (including the kalpe),
from 1766/67, published by J. Byres, which natu- for which excellent precedents are found in
rally reflect the style of their time. On the back Tarquinian tomb painting, but which also have
wall we once again see the motif of the false parallels in Chiusi in the Tomb of the Monkey
door, flanked by two servants, a thymiaterion or and Tomb of the Casuccini Hill. It is possible that
incense vessel (?), and a kylikeion, but for the first Tarquinian workshops were active here in the
time it is combined with a banquet scene with Vezza Valley, as in Chiusi, in the Late and Sub-
four klines and tables on the side walls. Here the Archaic phase.
deceased has apparently already passed through In its subject matter and ideology, at least,
the door and arrived in the hereafter. One of the the Tomb of the Blue Demons (dei Demoni
banquet’s female participants holds a rotulus Azzurri), which was discovered in 1985—complete
(scroll) in her hand, another a rhyton (drinking with remains of grave goods—beneath the mod-
horn). Naked cupbearers and clothed female ern road in Tarquinia’s Monterozzi necropolis,
servers move between the richly appointed belongs to the end of the period discussed in this
klines. The boar hunt depicted on the rotulus chapter. Its paintings represent a mixture of tradi-
recalls the small hunting frieze in the Querciola tional and innovative themes, some of which are
Tomb I. The gable has a center support flanked of almost revolutionary importance not so much
by predatory cats. for their style but for their novel iconography and
In the valley of the Vezza River, in the bor- the notions behind it. They are to be published by
der region between the territories of Tarquinia, M. Cataldi. Here, for the first time in Etruscan
Volsinii/Orvieto, and Falerii, lie a few painted tomb painting, we can quite clearly identify
chamber tombs recently republished by G. Cifani, figures belonging to the underworld, even though
among them a four-chamber tomb from the mid- they are not named in inscriptions. The dating of
fifth century discovered in 1904 in the Pranzovico this very important tomb has ranged between the Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, left wall:
area near Grotte San Stefano. Its wall paintings are middle of the fifth century (M. Torelli) and the section with biga, musicians, and dancers, end of
now largely destroyed; we are therefore obliged to first half of the fourth century (F. Gilotta). the fifth century ..

p. 165
Tarquinia, Francesca Giustiniani Tomb, back wall:
detail of a richly adorned female dancer with krotala,
middle to third quarter of the fifth century ..
p. 166 p. 167
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Funerary Bed: section of the Tarquinia, Tomb of the Funerary Bed: section of the
right wall with two reclining men wearing wreaths, right wall with a groom and youth with a light blue
ca. 460 .. horse, ca. 460 ..
pp. 168–69
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Black Sow: section of the back
wall with two doves beneath banquet klines, ca. 450 ..
or shortly thereafter.
pp. 170–71
Tarquinia, Maggi Tomb: section of the back wall
with animatedly gesturing banqueters and cupbearer,
around or shortly after the middle of the fifth
century ..
pp. 172–73
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Ship, section of the back
wall: banqueting scene with couples lounging on
klines and cupbearers, beneath them footstools with
sandals, around or shortly after the middle of the
p. 174 p. 175
Tarquinia, Francesca Giustiniani Tomb: section of the Tarquinia, Tomb of the Maiden: section of the right
back wall with a male dancer in a short blue cloak, wall with a female banqueter lounging on a richly
middle to third quarter of the fifth century .. adorned kline, end of the fifth century ..
p. 177
p. 176
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, section of
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Cock, left portion of the left
the right wall: blue-skinned demon of death and
wall: dancing Phersu with mask, female dancer with
bearded serpents in a rocky landscape, end of the
krotala, and aulos player, ca. 400 ..
pp. 178–79
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, section of the
left wall: procession with biga, dancers, and
musicians, end of the fifth century ..
p. 180
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, section of the
right wall: demon of death with dark-red skin
grabbing a woman, end of the fifth century ..
According to Cataldi, the paintings were probably by musicians and dancers, much as in a funus Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, section of
only executed around 430/20 (terminis ante triumphalis. To some extent the scene is a precur- the right wall: two demons of death in a rocky
landscape, the left one with blue skin and serpents,
quem), some time after the tomb was created. sor of the magistrates’ processions seen in later
the right one with dark skin and wings, end of the
They were done on very thick plaster strength- Tarquinian tomb paintings and on the so-called
ened with nails, with almost no preliminary draw- Sarcophagus of the Magistrate from Cerveteri. On
ing. The painting workshop responsible for them the right wall the deceased wife has arrived in the
could be the same one that painted Querciola underworld and is being greeted by her ancestors
Tomb I. The conventionally structured back-wall in a landscape. Iconographically, the older woman
banquet with four klines (three with pairs of men is based on traditional depictions of Demeter, the
and one with the married couple) is to be under- younger follows the pattern for Persephone. The
stood as the ultimate goal in the hereafter, so to river Acheron is symbolized—for the first time in
speak, toward which the figures on the side walls Etruscan tomb painting—by the Greek Charon
are moving. The very poorly preserved paintings on his skiff with an oar, in a scene reminiscent of
on the entry wall show either funeral games— Attic painting, especially those on fifth-century
taking place in the here and now—or (according white-ground lekythoi. Four blue- or black-
to Cataldi) a rocky landscape with a stag hunt, a skinned demons of frightful appearance populate
young warrior, and possible remnants of a ser- the rocky, three-dimensional landscape of Hades,
pent’s head (a mythical hunt or Herakles battling which appears to have been based on Attic prece-
with the Lernean hydra?). As in old Caeretan dents like Polygnotos’s famous Nekyia, or Hades
tombs, it is possible to distinguish a left-hand landscape, in the Lesche (clubhouse) of the
male side and a right-hand female side in the Cnidians at Delphi from the second quarter of the
Tomb of the Blue Demons. On the left wall we fifth century. The demon with a blue flesh tone
see the deceased man’s journey into the hereafter and serpentine beard could be a reminiscence of
on a biga (in terms of iconography, like that in the the frightening blue-skinned Eurynomos in that
Francesca Giustiniani Tomb). He is accompanied nekyia, and according to M. Rendeli, the younger

winged demon or genius may represent Hypnos. impossible for Etruscan potters and vase painters
Personifications like Hypnos and Thanatos to match, either technically (firing and glazing)
attending the corpses of heroes are documented or artistically. Yet the style and subject matter
in Greek art since the Late Archaic period. Such of these Attic vessels definitely influenced fifth-
novel subjects probably reached Etruria Padana century Etruscan tomb painting, especially in
from Athens in the fifth century by way of Spina, Tarquinia, as we will see. Athens continued to be
as numerous depictions on Felsina steles from the the leading center for Greek vase painting up to
second half of the fifth century suggest. In the the turn from the fifth to the fourth century. The
later fifth century and especially in the fourth Rich Style vases of the Meidias Painter, some of
century, Etruria was subjected to various new reli- which have also been found in Etruscan tombs,
gious and eschatological influences from Greece, can be seen as a last culmination. Most notable is
mainly of a Dionysian, Eleusinian, Orphic, or the famous hydria from Populonia, with a depic-
Pythagorean nature. Several experts would like to tion of Aphrodite and her attendants. We find
see in the iconography of the Tomb of the Blue such large-format Attic red-figure vases from the
Demons allusions to some mystery religion, prob- close of the fifth century elsewhere in Italy, pri-
ably Dionysian, revealed only to initiates. marily in Numana and Spina, in Campania, in
The painted pinakes so highly regarded in the Tiber Valley centers, and in northern
Cerveteri in the Archaic period virtually disap- Tyrrhenian harbor centers bordering on Celto-
pear in the fifth century, though isolated finds— Ligurian territories like Populonia and Aleria. In
almost all of them in Cerveteri—show that the the fourth century the center of red-figure vase
genre did not die out completely. The fragment of production then shifted for good to the Greek
a small clay plaque from the middle of the fifth colonies in southern Italy, as we will see in the
century painted with a dancing figure—probably next chapter.
a votive image—which was found next to the In Etruria (mainly in Orvieto) in the first
northwest gate of ancient Tarquinia, is especially decades of the fifth century, also in the workshops
worthy of mention. of Etruscan-dominated northern Campania,
Red-figure vase painting was of little especially Capua, black-figure vases of relatively
importance in Etruria in the fifth century, doubt- modest quality and clearly indebted to Attic pro-
less in part because of the considerable drop in totypes continued to be produced. Especially
imports of Attic red-figure pottery after 480/470 worthy of mention are the vessels from the period
.. Attic imports now arrived in Italy primarily around 480 by the Dancing Satyrs Painter, whose
by way of the central (Numana) and upper repertoire was mainly made up of Dionysian
Adriatic, through the harbor cities that served as figures. We are indebted for the earliest and most
emporia, Spina and Adria, which with their important Etruscan red-figure vases to the work-
mixed populations of Etruscans, Greeks, and shop of the Praxias Painter, who worked in Vulci
Venetii had begun to flourish in the late sixth in the second quarter of the fifth century and pro-
century. Thanks to them, the most important duced mainly amphorae. He was apparently a
Attic red-figure vases from the Early to High Greek metic, perhaps from Cumae or Rhegion in
Classical periods, like those of Hermonax and the southern Italy, who signed an amphora discovered
Niobid and Penthesilea Painters have come in Vulci in the Chalcidic alphabet with “Arnthe
mainly from the necropolises of northeast Italy, Praxias.” These were not true red-figure vases, to
especially from Spina. From there such wares be sure, for the figures are painted rather than left
were marketed to Felsina/Bologna and to other the color of the clay. This overpainting technique
centers in the Padana. A huge bowl from Spina by is found in Etruria up into Early Hellenistic times,
the Penthesilea Painter, seventy-two centimeters around 300. The often deliberately isolated and
in diameter, showing the Dioscuri before an altar large-format figures of the Praxias Painter, whose
in the center and the labors of Theseus around incised preliminary drawings reveal considerable
the edge, is deserving of particular notice. This is draftsmanship, recall to some extent those of the
but one of hundreds of fifth-century Attic red- famous Berlin Painter. We even find less impor-
figure vases from the tombs of Spina that form tant representatives of the Praxias Group in the
the collection of the Museo Archeologico in third quarter of the fifth century, as for example
Ferrara. This high-value Attic export pottery was in Tomb 45 of the Osteria necropolis in Vulci.

Only in the last two decades of the fifth cen- Eros, framed by large palmette-volute ornaments. Tarquinia, Tomb of the Blue Demons, section of the
tury are there significant innovations in style and With the founding of the colony Thurioi in 444, back wall: banqueting scene with lounging couple
and aulos player, end of the fifth century ..
subject matter, mainly of a Dionysian nature. In which was largely backed by Athens, numerous
Vulci and Orvieto, especially, we again find vase Attic potters and vase painters appear to have
painters of a certain importance. They were migrated to Magna Graecia, some probably even
strongly influenced by the vase painting of Attica, into the Faliscan region of Etruria, where they
though their imitations were highly simplified. found a new field of activity and a rich new mar-
Among them are the Pitt Rivers Painter, the ket. Prominent among them were several follow-
Perugia Painter, and Sommavilla Painter, as well ers of the Meidias Painter like the Meleager and
as the higher-quality Argonaut Group. Around Erbach Painters. Surely it is in this context that we
400 the Diespater Painter, who had migrated are to understand the presence in Etruria of the
either directly from Athens or from the Pan- Greek painter Metron, apparently from Athens
Hellenic colony of Thurioi in southern Italy, originally, who probably established a workshop
emerges as the first important representative of in Vulci in the last quarter of the fifth century and
the school of red-figure vase painting in Falerii who signed a kylix found in Populonia “Metru
that would become so prominent in the fourth menece.” In the next chapter we will return to the
century. The eponymous vase, an extremely high- school of Faliscan red-figure vase painting that
quality stamnos from the necropolis at Falerii was so prominent during the first two generations
Veteres/Cività Castellana, depicts on different lev- of the fourth century.
els Zeus between Ganymedes and Athena with

The Great Changes
The Late Classical Period (–/ ..)
The period known as the Late Classical period in definitive establishment of minting; to high- Facing page: Vulci, François Tomb, right wall of the
Greek culture and art history, one associated with quality relief and painted sarcophagi, usually with “atrium”: detail of Vel Saties, wearing a wreath and
ceremonial attire, and of the young Arnza with
superb artists in the realm of sculpture, painting, lid figures from Cerveteri, Vulci, and Orvieto,
bird, third quarter of the fourth century ..
and architecture, was a time of major changes in then after mid-century mainly from Tarquinia;
Etruria as well. It was only then that influences tomb sculptures from Chiusi; high-quality bronze
from Greek Classical art finally prevailed, in sculptures (like the head from Lake Bolsena in the
painting as well as other arts. On the international British Museum and the head from Cagli in the
and pan-Italian scenes, Etruria played an ever Marches), mainly from workshops in Arezzo and
smaller political role in the fourth century. The Orvieto; and greater numbers of higher-quality
period saw the Romans capture and destroy, in bronze mirrors (from Vulci and elsewhere) and
396, the once vital southern Etruscan metropolis cistae (especially from Praeneste) ornamented
of Veii; numerous additional military skirmishes with figural engravings. We also note a definite
between an increasingly powerful Rome and vari- resurgence of urban building, with the construc-
ous Etruscan cities, above all Tarquinia; several tion of new city walls or the restoration of exist-
incursions by the Gauls, especially into the Chiusi ing ones, the erection of increasingly monumental
region in interior Etruria; plundering along the temples (for example the Ara della Regina in
Tyrrhenian coast by the Syracusans, notably of Tarquinia), and ever more luxurious and detailed
the shrine at Pyrgi in 384; and the loss of Etruria tomb architecture (especially in some of the aris-
Padana. Imports of Attic pottery virtually ceased. tocratic Caeretan hypogea from the second half of
Moreover, we know of social unrest in a number the century, which emphasize the burial of the
of Etruscan cities, notably Arezzo. tomb’s owner). Roof terracottas reappeared on a
At the same time, it is possible to discern a number of Etruscan temples (the Ara della Regina
kind of economic, cultural, and artistic resur- in Tarquinia, with its famous team of winged
gence in a number of Etruscan metropolises— horses; the temple at Celle, near Falerii; and the
Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci, Falerii—with a temple at Pyrgi). And of course the very rich tra-
redefinition of the relationship between the city ditions of tomb painting and particularly red-
and its chora, or surrounding countryside. In fact, figure vase painting continued.
it was in the fourth century that various northern The most important studies of late Etruscan
and northeastern Etruscan cities like Volterra, tomb painting of the fourth and third centuries
Arezzo, Cortona, and Perugia really came into from the last three decades are those by H. Blanck,
their own as important economic and art centers. F. Coarelli, G. Colonna, M. Cristofani, F. Gilotta,
Orvieto/Volsinii and Falerii Veteres attained A. Maggiani, F.-H. Massa-Pairault, A. and M.
particular prominence in this period. To an Morandi, A. Naso, F. Serra Ridgway, M. Torelli,
increasing degree, a cultural-artistic “koine” was C. Weber-Lehmann, and the present writer. Their
developed over the course of the fourth century in main interests have been in reconstructing the
central Italy (Etruria, Latium, Campania), which history of the gentry and exploring possible his-
will be discussed in greater detail in the torical connections, establishing a more precise
last chapter. As for art and craft production in chronology, and deciphering the symbolism relat-
Etruria in the fourth century, one can point to the ing to death and the afterlife.
THE GREAT CHANGES 185

Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Gorgoneion, back
wall: two youths in conversation in a grove of small
trees, gable with Gorgoneion and palmette-volute
ornaments, beginning of the fourth century ..
Below left: Tarquinia, Tomb 2327 (Bertazzoni

Tomb), back wall: painted loculus flanked by
two female dancers, beginning of the fourth
century ..
Below right: Tarquinia, Tomb 3242, back wall:

loculus painted with dancers and musicians,
beginning of the fourth century ..
The paintings of Tomb of Orcus (dell’ were still being created in the first decades of the
Orco) I are the first in Tarquinia, or for that mat- fourth century. We have to assume that for a
ter in Etruria, that can rightly be considered time in the last decades of the fifth century and
“Classical,” though the precise dating of the tomb first decades of the fourth, both traditional and
is still disputed. Yet it is possible that a number of more innovative subject matter and both conser-
tombs displaying a more conventional style and vative and more progressive styles were pursued
more traditional subject matter, like the Tomb of simultaneously.
the Gorgoneion, the Tomb of the Warrior, the There are a limited number of painted
Tomb of the Pygmies, and Tombs 2327 and 3242, Tarquinian tombs from the second and third
which were discussed in the preceding chapter, quarters of the fourth century; the main ones are
186 THE GREAT CHANGES

the grand aristocratic tombs Orcus I and II, the solely—in Tarquinia while workshops in other
Tomb of the Shields, the Ceisinie Tomb, and places tended to be of only local significance and
the Tomb with Pilaster and Female Figure (con active for only a limited time. Whether the paint-
Pilastro e Figura di Donna). In the Orvieto/ ings in Vulci’s François Tomb are to be attributed
Volsinii area there are also the two Golini tombs to some trendsetting Tarquinian workshop
and the Tomb of the Hescanas, which probably remains to be seen. It is possible to identify cer-
dates from the waning fourth century; in Vulci the tain similarities between fourth-century tomb
famous François Tomb; in Sarteano near Chiusi painting in Chiusi, Orvieto, and Tarquinia. Also,
the recently discovered Tomb of the Infernal the precise dating of many late Etruscan painted
Quadriga (della Quadriga infernale), as well as tombs remains a puzzle to this day, especially
isolated tombs in Blera and near Bomarzo. The those from the waning Late Classical and High
patrons and occupants of these large aristocratic Hellenistic phases; assigning dates to Early
painted tombs were a relatively small number of Hellenistic tombs is generally easier.
noble families, some of them interrelated, that Images of the deceased and their ancestors
held the influential political and religious offices become much more common and are more easily
and controlled politics, the economy, and com- identified beginning in the fourth century than
merce in what was still a class-conscious and in the tomb painting of the preceding centuries.
hierarchical society. Also important in any recon- The well-known large, aristocratic painted tombs
struction of the history of Etruscan painting in the in Tarquinia, Orvieto, and Vulci furnish the best
Late Classical period are a number of painted sar- examples. It was this same period that saw the
cophagi, most notably the Amazon Sarcophagus creation of the extensive Etruscan family and
and Sarcophagus of the Priest from Tarquinia. clan archives reflected in the period of the early
In contrast to the fifth century, red-figure vase Roman Empire in the famous Elogia Tarquiniensia,
painting from the Faliscan regions and a few which have been published by M. Torelli. They
Etruscan centers once again provides us with document the importance of the aristocratic
important information as well. gentes that reconstituted themselves over the
The arrangement and composition of paint- course of the fourth century following the so-
ings in these newer tombs are in many respects called “seculo buio” (dark age). The Roman annal-
freer and less organic than in preceding periods, ists surely drew on these archives. Moreover, from
in part as a result of the tombs’ architecture. In various Etruscan inscriptions we get hints of cere-
tombs of the gentry from the Late Classical phase, monies in honor of the “nacnvaiasi,” or “avis”—
with flat ceilings and mostly without benches like ancestors—that apparently took place in tombs.
the tombs Orcus I and II in Tarquinia and Golini I In this connection it is also important to mention
and II near Orvieto, paintings generally fill the the parentatio, in which a son or grandson or
entire height of the walls above a base zone, but some other descendant might transfer the mortal
can be interrupted by architectural or painted remains of a father or grandfather to a newly built Tarquinia, Museo Archeologico: ends of the
elements like doors and windows and can be sub- tomb. The famous François Tomb in Vulci, from Sarcophagus of the Priest from Tarquinia with
divided into individual scenes or isolated group- the third quarter of the fourth century, contained scenes from an Amazonomachy, ca. 330/320 ..
ings. The gable is now no longer treated the bodies and grave goods from the tomb of the
separately but rather incorporated into the wall family founder, some four generations back,
composition. In multichamber tomb complexes which lay above it.
like the Tomb of the Shields and the François The turn from the fifth to the fourth cen-
Tomb, figural paintings are concentrated in the tury saw a fundamental change in Etruscan tomb
main central chamber. painting, especially with respect to iconography,
The condition and the heterogeneity in ideology, and sepulchral symbolism. A few
style and subject matter in late Etruscan tomb decades later we find changes in style and paint-
painting—at times even within the same tomb— ing technique as well. We have already seen indi-
generally do not allow the sort of identification cations of such changes in the late-fifth-century
of workshop connections and painting groups Tomb of the Blue Demons, discussed in the previ-
possible in the painting of the sixth and fifth cen- ous chapter. As a rule, the images in Etruscan
turies. The leading painting workshops continued tomb painting from the Late Classical and
to be centered mostly—in the third century Hellenistic periods are far more concerned with

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, back wall of the death and the afterlife than those of earlier century, members of the prominent gentes still
main chamber: section with Larth Velcha and Velia periods, which were—at least outwardly—more chose to have themselves portrayed at banquets,
Seithiti at a banqueting table, serving woman with
realistic in their depiction of the here and now but now these banquets lack their earlier joviality;
fan, and long genealogical inscription, third quarter
and for the most part more cheerful. They now they are now clearly set in the beyond, or Hades.
include depictions of the deceased taking leave The underworld is indicated either by the pres-
of his relatives, the journey—on foot, on horse- ence of dark clouds and demons, as in the Tomb
back, in a biga or cart, by ship—to the under- of Orcus I, images of its rulers Aita/Hades and
world. These frequently include images of Phersipnei/ Persephone, as in the Tomb of
typically Etruscan demons like Charun and Orcus II and the Orvietan Golini Tomb I, or by
Vanth as potent reminders that death is universal a rocky, marshy landscape, as in the Tomb of
and inescapable. The passage into the hereafter, Orcus II. The participants at the banquet are gen-
sometimes symbolized by a round-arched gate— erally the person who commissioned the tomb
like actual gates found in such cities as Volterra, and his ancestors, at times shown to be expecting
Perugia, and Falerii Novi—can be made either the arrival of a newly deceased member of the
alone or in the company of others. There the clan. In some instances only the men still recline
deceased is frequently awaited by his or her ances- on klines, while the women sit at the foot end.
tors. Until well into the third quarter of the fourth In the Tomb of the Shields, the tomb builder’s

parents are even shown twice, once at the banquet quarter view, and they can express such emotions
and again as though enthroned, thus doubly hon- as solemnity or sorrow. Although the people
ored and exalted. In the Tomb of Orcus II, the depicted are often identified by name, these are
deceased were depicted in a banquet scene now still not portraits in the strictly “photographic”
only partially preserved, gazing at a nekyia of sense, but only common contemporary types, as
Homeric stamp, with a number of Greek heroes, we also find them in other Etruscan art genres, for
underworld gods, and Etruscan demons. Vel example the profile heads on Volterran kelebai, in
Saties, the owner of the famous François Tomb in bronze sculpture, the heads of figures on the lids
Vulci, also had himself surrounded by Greek of stone sarcophagi and urns, and in terracotta
heroes and mythological figures. With such votive heads.
imagery the tomb owner and his clan clearly Inscriptions, often preserved only in frag-
wished to identify themselves with the culture ments, if at all, were generally painted in black or
and thought of Greece, to underscore the impor- red, less often incised. They become a common
tance and antiquity of their lineage by suggesting and important element of Etruscan tomb paint-
Greek descent. In this same tomb, which has ing beginning in the mid-fourth century. Much
depictions of battles between victorious Vulcians the same can be said of the sarcophagi that began
and their allies and other Etruscans dating back to be produced, mainly in Tarquinia, at this same
some 200 years, Vel Saties also pointed to the glo- time. Frequently inscriptions also appear on
rious military triumphs of his forefathers. the walls of tomb chambers that have not been
Typical of later Etruscan tomb painting is a painted; as a rule these can be shown to have
greater emphasis placed on the individual and the belonged to the classe intermedia rather than the
individual personality than was evident in the aristocratic elite. In a number of tombs there are
earlier painting of the sixth and fifth centuries. even isolated Latin inscriptions that were appar-
We see this in the numerous inscriptions, for ently added in connection with later burials.
example, most of them genealogical. Also the The inscriptions generally include the name and
images are more like portraits, a quality most rank of the deceased, their father’s name and
apparent in the faces of the deceased in the Tomb frequently their mother’s as well, any political
of the Shields, Vulci’s François Tomb, and later, and religious titles, providing a sort of cursus
in the third century, the Tomb of the Meeting honorum, and their age at death. Among the mag-
(del Convegno). Now faces are depicted not istracies mentioned, which were reserved exclu-
only frontally and in profile, but often in three- sively for members of the leading aristocratic
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II, left wall: section of

the nekyia (Hades landscape) with Agamemnon
and Tiresias and a small tree with small black
figures, third quarter of the fourth century ..

clans, we find the zilath, zilath cechaneri, purth, incorporating several dozen burials, members
maru, cepen, camthi, and even zilath mechl rasnal of other families—generally related through
(= praetor Etruriae). Many inscriptions are of marriage—were apparently accommodated as
considerable length, as in the Tomb of Orcus I well, as in the Tomb of the Shields. Inscriptions
and the Tomb of the Shields, amounting to virtual often document the continued used of tombs over
eulogies. With the help of these genealogical several generations, in some cases as many as five.
inscriptions we are able to ascribe a number of From the sarcophagi, paintings, and inscriptions
tombs to specific clans, like the Murina, Velca, in Tarquinia’s Tomb of the Anina Family, it is
Pinie, Curuna, Anina, and Pumpu in Tarquinia, possible to reconstruct a precise genealogy span-
the Satie in Vulci, and the Leinie, Vercna, and ning at least three generations. In addition to
Hescana near Orvieto. Because they are often only the deceased and their family members and
fragmentary, such attributions can be disputed. ancestors—the members of earlier generations
The Tomb of Orcus, for example, was formerly are often shown awaiting the arrival of the newly
assigned to the Spurina (M. Torelli), but accord- deceased—mythological figures, predominantly
Florence, Museo Archeologico: Amazon
Sarcophagus from Tarquinia, detail of one of the
ing to a new reading it seems more likely that it gods and heroes and less frequently the demons
ends with Amazon, third quarter of the fourth belonged to the Murina (M. Morandi). In a num- of death, are identified by name. Servants, slaves,
century .. ber of the very extensive tombs, some of them and other persons of lower social status are only

rarely named. They are identified in Orvieto’s “ancestral galleries” of almost individualized
Golini Tomb I, an interesting exception that “portraits,” is eloquent testimony to a new
appears to confirm what the ancient sources orgoglio gentilizio and pronounced cult of
tell us about the relative freedom of Volsinii’s ancestors. What remains to be explained is the
servant class. degree to which a new spirituality and new beliefs
It is typical of the image of the hereafter from Greece and Magna Graecia stood behind
presented in late Etruscan tomb painting, espe- these pictorial changes. Elements of Orphic-
cially its banqueting scenes and magistrates’ pro- Pythagorean teachings about transmigration and
cessions, that social distinctions and hierarchies the cleansing of souls through mortification and
are perpetuated even in death, that the earthly purification have often been suspected in figural
privileges of the aristocratic ruling class are trans- friezes like those in the Tomb of the Cardinal (del
ferred, so to speak, to the afterlife. The major Cardinale), the Tartaglia Tomb, and the Orvietan
Etruscan tombs and tomb paintings from the Late Tomb of the Hescanas. Such notions of possible
Classical and Hellenistic periods have a distinctly punishment in the hereafter are at times blended
aristocratic aura. They glorify the clan in question in with illustrations of the punishment meted out
and the political and military achievements of its to mythical figures like Sisyphus. The depictions
ancestors. They also point up the relationships of black, wingless “little souls” in a small tree in
between the aristocracies of the various Etruscan the nekyia of the Tomb of Orcus II, later referred
cities resulting from a shrewd policy of intermar- to as “animulae” or “eidola” in Virgil (Aenead
riage. Genealogical inscriptions and depictions of 6.706ff.), which according to Pythagorean doc-
family members from different generations that trine were destined for reincarnation, could point
emphasize lineage, titles, and achievements reveal in this direction. In many cases the tomb could
a virtual obsession with the gens and an ancestral now be considered an image of the afterlife, so to
cult that to some extent resembles that of the speak, peopled by gods, heroes, and demons. The
early Romans as described by Polybius (6.53). At concept of the “realm of shades,” the Greek Hades
this time the main idea behind all tomb painting with its inhabitants, is of course Greek in origin,
was the celebration of the family; the tomb and based in the Homeric tradition. The ban-
owner’s father and his forebears are presented as quet, still seen up into the third quarter of the
heroes, his own high social, political, military, fourth century, is now clearly taking place in the
and/or religious standing is proclaimed, and with hereafter, and it is thus to be understood as a
either friezes of weapons or separate depictions of banchetto eterno. Some scholars, like M. Torelli,
them, emphasis is placed on the ability of the gens feel that the banquets of the sixth and fifth cen-
to defend itself. Included in the programs of some turies were set in the afterlife as well.
tomb paintings, as in the François Tomb in Vulci Prefigurations of these new concepts can be seen
and the Giglioli Tomb in Tarquinia, are allusions in the Tomb of the Blue Demons from the later
to the decisive military encounters between fifth century. At first these innovations may have
Rome and the southern Etruscan cities, especially reached the Padana from Attica by way of Spina,
Vulci and Tarquinia, in which—though in coded and thus come to Etruria, but in the fourth cen-
form—anti-Roman sentiments and propaganda tury we must assume that much that was new
are evident. And it must be remembered that it came from Magna Graecia. The subjects that
was Rome that ultimately prevailed in such appear to be cruel and bloodthirsty at first glance
encounters. The last of Etruria’s tomb paintings were formerly interpreted too simplistically, as
were created at a time when the nation had been indications of a general political, social, and eco-
subjugated and was being gradually Romanized, nomic decline and a consequent pessimism and
facts that could hardly have failed to influence fear of the hereafter. But they are not necessarily
their subject matter. signs of a fundamental religious change. On the
The iconographic changes in late Etruscan katabasis eis Adou, the journey into the under-
tomb painting just outlined are unmistakable. world that is now depicted so frequently, generally
Realistic content now gives way to imaginary undertaken in a biga, it appears that trials of vari-
scenes; subject matter relating to the underworld ous kinds had to be withstood and obstacles over-
and the afterlife comes to predominate, and along come before ultimate bliss, presented as having
with the many genealogical inscriptions and mainly Dionysian features, was finally attained.

F. Serra Ridgway, for example, sees even in in Vulci, the Sarcophagus of the Priest from
Etruria’s late period an altogether positive, hope- Tarquinia, depictions on vases (a Faliscan stamnos
filled belief in the afterlife, part Elysium and part in Berlin, the Patroclus Krater in Naples) and
Tartarus, and a changeless and just cosmic order. cistae (the Révil Ciste in London, British
The final goal was eternal, heroic life in the here- Museum), sarcophagus reliefs (from Torre San
after in the company of gods and ancestors. Severo, near Orvieto), and urn reliefs (Volterra).
It is possible to divide the iconographic Of course there were Etruscan changes and addi-
subjects and motifs that appear in later Etruscan tions, for example the inclusion of death demons,
tomb painting into three basic groupings. First that served to nationalize the Greek subject matter.
there are the elements taken over from Greece and There was also probably a pattern dating to the
Magna Graecia, most notably the nekyia, mytho- third quarter of the fourth century from Magna
logical subjects, and motifs like Typhon and the Graecia, again probably Tarentum, for Laius’s rape
vine goddess. Then there are the specifically of Chrysippus and Laius before Apollo at Delphi.
Etruscan elements: the banquets, the journey into Reflections of this subject are documented in
the hereafter, demons, magistrates’ processions, Etruria on cistae (Cista Barberini) and vases
historicizing scenes, and genealogical inscrip- (four from Apulia and a Faliscan one), but not in
tions. Finally, there are those elements that can be tomb painting. The Argonaut episode with the
seen as expressions of a larger artistic and cultural Bebrycians is also documented on the famous
koine. Here one thinks mainly of ornament and Cista Ficoroni from Praeneste, but not in tomb
botanical decor. Of course many paintings blend painting. Even more popular in Etruria—especially
Greek and Etruscan features, for example in in sepulchral art—was the Amazonomachy;
mythological scenes combining Greek gods and although it is not documented in tomb painting, it
heroes and Etruscan demons of death. prominently appears on painted sarcophagi (like
Most prominent among the Greek motifs the Amazon Sarcophagus and the Sarcophagus of
is the nekyia, with underworld gods and heroes, the Priest from Tarquinia) and sarcophagus reliefs
as in the Tomb of Orcus II. It was probably not (the Sarcophagus of Velthur Partunus from
based directly on the famous Nekyia by the Tarquinia).
Athenian painter Nikias, but rather on a southern Specifically Etruscan features of later
Italian painting or even several paintings from tomb paintings are the demons of death, mainly
Magna Graecia. This is suggested by comparison Charun and Vanth, found in numerous tombs.
with pictures on Apulian vases, for example those It was formerly thought that the earliest certain
by the Dareios Painter. The faces, especially, are depiction of Charun is the large-scale figure in the
like those in Apulian vase painting, tilted slightly Tomb of Orcus I, from the second quarter of the
downward and rendered in three-quarter view, fourth century. Here the demon, with a hooked
with curly, wiglike hair that looks almost baroque. nose, serpentine locks of hair, wings, a short loin-
Another very popular subject in late Etruscan cloth, boots, a hammer, and bluish skin—the
painting is Achilles’ slaughter of the Trojan cap- color of decomposition—already presents his typ-
tives in honor of the dead Patroclus. Patterns for ical Etruscan features. After this, depictions of
this were surely found in Greek painting, espe- Etruscan death demons multiply in funereal art,
cially that of Magna Graecia (“grandes picturae,” from the second half of the fourth century down
Pliny, Nat. Hist. 35.132), that have been lost. But into the second century in tomb painting (large-
there are echoes of this famous subject in litera- and small-format depictions) and Etruscan red-
ture and in other art genres, in tomb and sarcoph- figure vase painting (for example the Vanth
agus painting, in vase painting, in cista and mirror Group from Orvieto, the Clusium-Volaterrae
engravings, and in sarcophagus and urn reliefs. Group, and Caeretan vessels), in sarcophagus,
Most scholars presume that the original pattern urn, and tomb-facade reliefs, and in the form
for the sacrifice was a painting from Magna of stone sculptures (Charun statue from the
Graecia, probably Tarentum, from the mid-fourth Caeretan Tomb of the Blue Demons [dei
century; the rendering of the Patroclus figure Demoni]), bronze statuettes, and terracotta
with its bandages is typical of the art of Magna masks. Since only a few of these Etruscan demons
Graecia. Among the many reflections of it in are identified by inscriptions—the main names in
Etruria one could point to the François Tomb addition to Charun are Tuchulcha and the female

Vanth—we cannot identify a number of them mented Tuchulcha has especially terrifying fea-
with certainty. We must assume that there were tures, with a bird’s beak, ass’s ears, and serpents.
additional Etruscan death demons whose names A valuable study by I. Krauskopf has
we do not know. That there were several types shown that demons and genii of various kinds
for Charun alone is proved by inscriptions next to and functions were already a part of the Etruscan
the four Charun figures guarding the false doors pantheon in the Archaic and Classical periods,
in the Tarquinian Tomb of the Charuns (dei though they were only rarely depicted. When they
Caronti). Charun occasionally appears in were shown they took a different form. Winged
Etruscan sepulchral art divorced of any direct demons and genii of a “benign,” youthful appear-
context; otherwise he appears as a herald of the ance already appear in tombs from the later fifth
hereafter in mythological and battle scenes and at and early fourth centuries, as in the Tomb of the
the deceased’s leave-taking from his relatives, as Maiden and the Tomb of the Warrior, then in the
an attendant to the dead or psychopompos, as a fourth century in the Tomb of the Shields (one
guardian of the gate of Hades on his arrival in the with a diptych) and the Tomb of Orcus II (as ser-
underworld, in the hereafter itself, and in the ret- vants at a banquet in the hereafter). Comparable
inue of Aita/Hades. We see this multiplication of images are found on Etruscan bronze mirrors.
functions especially over the course of the third Chiusan tomb sculpture from the late fifth cen-
century, leading in the second century to an ever tury also occasionally includes winged female
greater variety in the Charun iconography, demons or genii together with the deceased. The
including his diverse attributes. The female Vanth, beginnings of the Charun iconography in Etruria
generally winged and attractive, with a short can be traced back to the close of the fifth century,
belted chiton that leaves her breasts exposed and interestingly enough in the Etruscan northeast,
with a torch as an attribute, often serves the same more precisely Felsina/Bologna. On the typical
or similar functions, especially that of psy- relief-ornamented Felsina grave steles, we occa-
chopompos. The much less frequently docu- sionally see a winged, youthful demon of an
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Warrior, entry wall:

acrobats and dancing warriors framing the door;
in the gable, a winged “genius” and a panther,
first quarter of the fourth century ..

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Warrior, back wall:
banqueting scene with two couples lounging on
klines, a cockfight and two panthers in the gable,
first quarter of the fourth century ..
obviously Etruscan mold, who is then replaced by as well as four demons of death of the Etruscan
a wingless older man with an oar and frequently mold—again for the first time in Etruria—
with a cap and torch as well. On steles, the latter frightful-looking creatures with blue, brownish,
clearly functions as an escort for the deceased, but or black skin, some winged, some armed with
with oar and cap he corresponds iconographically serpents. Whereas the Charon iconography with
to the Greek Charon, even though his skiff is skiff still presents a Greek-Attic signature, the
never shown. Apparently he is a somewhat altered four demons are typically Etruscan, even though
version of the Greek Charon, who was very often we cannot attach names to them, as there are not
pictured, mainly as a peaceful old ferryman— yet any inscriptions in the tomb. Thus the Tomb
Charon geraios pothmeus—on Attic white-ground of the Blue Demons, which is clearly older than
lekythoi from the second half of the fifth century the famous Tomb of Orcus I with its large-scale
(admittedly almost never exported to Etruria) depiction of Charun, and also older than the well-
used in the cult of the dead. It has already been known Etruscan red-figure vessel in Munich in
mentioned that Greek influence was particularly the form of Charun’s head, serves as an invalu-
strong in northeastern Italy in the fifth century, able source for the rise and development of
that is to say Etruria Padana, mainly by way of the demon iconography in Etruria, which accordingly
Adriatic emporia Spina and Adria. The Tomb of was not a fourth-century phenomenon after all,
the Blue Demons in Tarquinia, from the last but had its roots in the fifth century. An early
decades of the fifth century, whose discovery in study on Charun, who like no other Etruscan
1985 greatly expanded and revised our knowledge demon represents death itself and also probably
of Etruscan demonology, has already been dis- new eschatological thinking in Etruria, is the
cussed. The paintings on its right wall, which Belgian scholar F. De Ruyt’s monograph from
are clearly set in the hereafter, are especially 1934, which is still valid today. In a seminal recent
instructive. There—for the first and only time study, the Bolognese Etruscologist F. Sacchetti has
in Etruria—we see the Greek Charon with an oar considerably expanded and deepened our knowl-
in his skiff as ferryman across the river Acheron, edge of Charun iconography in Etruria. We now

know seven paintings of Charun in which he is architectural ornament and often similar to
identified by inscriptions, as well as forty-five ornaments on contemporary vase painting. We
probable ones from twenty-four different tombs find them applied to the tops and bases of walls,
in Tarquinia, Vulci, and Orvieto dating from the pilaster capitals, false doors, coffered ceilings, and
later fifth century to the closing third century. the tombs’ sarcophagi. The ornamental repertoire
Another typically Etruscan subject is the so- is considerably richer than in tombs from the sev-
called magistrate’s procession. In it we are shown enth through early fourth centuries, where striped
a high official accompanied by togati, insignia friezes predominate. Now it is rare to see a multi-
bearers, musicians, and sometimes demons. Its stripe frieze adorning the top of the wall, as in
iconography is rooted in the fourth century, but it the Orvietan Golini Tomb II and Tomb of the
truly came into its own only in Hellenistic times, Hescanas. A 1967 essay on the ornamentation of
which is why I postpone a more detailed discus- the François Tomb at Vulci by M. Cristofani
sion of it until the next chapter. showed that a thorough examination of orna-
Landscape elements play a considerably ments can help one make considerably more
smaller role in later Etruscan tomb painting than precise observations regarding the provenance
in many tombs from the sixth and fifth centuries. and adoption of individual motifs and accord-
Now there are no longer depictions of groves ingly even the date of the tomb painting.
and decorated trees. A few isolated trees, together Cristofani noted the strongly southern Italian-
with reeds and rocks (and black clouds), may be Apulian components in the François Tomb and,
included in Hades landscapes, as in the Tomb of based on these, dated its paintings to the third
Orcus II. quarter of the fourth century, whereas earlier
Late Classical and Hellenistic tomb painting writers had thought it much later, some even
in Etruria makes use of numerous ornamental placing it in the Late Hellenistic period. To sum-
friezes and decorative elements of various kinds, marize, it can be said that a number of ornamen-
some of them adopted from or influenced by tal forms still widely used in earlier Etruscan wall
Left: Vulci, François Tomb, main chamber:

original ornamental frieze around the top of the
walls, third quarter of the fourth century ..
Below: Vulci, François Tomb, frieze with scale

pattern and female head (nineteenth-century
facsimile by Carlo Ruspi), third quarter of the
fourth century ..

p. 197
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus I, section of the right wall:
profile head of the “lovely” Velia in front of dark
clouds, second quarter of the fourth century ..
p. 198 p. 199
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II: detail of the right wall Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II, back wall: detail with the
with profile head of Theseus in the underworld, third three-headed Geryon wearing armor, third quarter of
quarter of the fourth century .. the fourth century ..
p. 200
p. 201
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II, back wall: detail with
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II, right wall: detail of the
profile head of the serpent-haired underworld
kylikeion with metal vessels, third quarter of the
goddess Phersipnei/Persephone, third quarter of
the fourth century ..
p. 202 p. 203
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, right side of the back Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, left portion of the
wall of the main chamber: detail of the banqueting right wall of the main chamber: section of the
scene with small serving woman with fan, third banqueting scene with kithara player, third quarter
quarter of the fourth century .. of the fourth century ..
p. 204
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, left portion of the
right wall of the main chamber: section of the
banqueting scene with profile head of Velthur Velcha
crowned with a wreath, third quarter of the fourth
century ..
painting no longer appear in tomb paintings after Also unique to this famous tomb are a perspec-
the second quarter of the fourth century, namely tive console frieze, a three-dimensional scale
checkerboard and circle patterns, friezes of pome- design, and women’s heads with floral decor.
granates, lotus-bud and lotus-palmette friezes, These ornaments also have precedents in Apulian
hooked meanders, and climbing ivy. Motifs like vase painting.
the wave frieze, at times enlivened with dolphins Greek monumental and panel painting,
and interrupted by palmettes, dogtooth friezes, virtually all of which has been lost, underwent
rosettes, ribbons, and wreaths were, however, decisive change in the fourth century and made
taken over into later tomb painting. In Tarquinia’s enormous progress. We know this mainly from
Tomb of the Typhon (del Tifone), to be sure, the the literary sources, but it can also be seen in
wave frieze does not crown the base zone, as was Macedonian tomb paintings, some of them of the
common, but fills the upper part of the wall. In highest quality. Painting abandoned its former
the waning Late Classical and Early Hellenistic flatness and its more draftsmanly, additive charac-
periods a variety of ornamental forms never ter and now employed such new techniques as
before seen come to enrich Etruscan painting. shading, hatching, chiaroscuro, highlights, dots of
Among these are ashlar or incrustation patterns color, and a considerably richer and more sensi-
in imitation of architecture, bucrania, female tive palette. With these tools it was able to create a
heads with floral decor, the console frieze, dentils greater sense of space and verisimilitude. Famous
(occasionally in perspective), Doric, Ionian, and painters like Nikosthenes, Nikias, and Apelles are
Lesbic cymatia, three-dimensional meander associated with these innovations, which were
friezes, three-dimensional scale designs, draped mainly introduced in the Greek motherland. But
fabric, and grapevine friezes. It is only in the third Tarentum had also become an important center
century that vine and garland friezes, rosette of Greek monumental painting, and with the
friezes, friezes of Doric metopes, miniaturist beginning of Hellenism in the Alexandrian era it
figural friezes, and crenellated designs appear. would be joined by other centers in the eastern
Most of these were common in a number of other Mediterranean region, such as Alexandria and
genres not only in Etruria but also in other Pergamon. Various literary sources note the
Mediterranean cultures, and thus are part of the increasing importance of many cities in Magna
artistic and cultural, Greek-influenced koine that Graecia—especially Tarentum and Syracuse—as
will be discussed in the last chapter. Some motifs, centers of art, including painting, in Classical and
like friezes of female heads, friezes of fighting Hellenistic times. Plutarch, for example (Brut. 23)
animals, three-dimensional meander friezes, tells of a painting in Velia/Elea in southern Italy
and scale patterns were adopted from southern showing Hector’s taking leave of Andromache
Italian, specifically Apulian, painting and vase and his child that moved Brutus’s wife Porcia
painting, apparently from wares exported from to tears. Livy (27.16.7), Plutarch (Fab. 22), and
Tarentum. The Doric metope frieze is docu- Florus (1.13.27) describe the immense art treas-
mented in the southern Italian region—mainly in ures, including famous paintings, that fell into
vase painting—beginning in the fourth century; the hands of the Romans after their conquests of
in Rome in the third century on the sarcophagus Tarentum in 272 and Syracuse in 212. The painting
of Scipio Barbatus; and in Etruria in tomb archi- of Tarentum, especially, appears to have been a
tecture and in sarcophagus and urn reliefs in the major influence on techniques, style, iconography,
third and second centuries. Much the same is true and pictorial cycles as far north as central Italy
of the denticulation borrowed from architectural and Etruria. Some reflection of the large-format
ornament. Cymatia of the Doric, Ionian, and Greek painting of the Late Classical period and
Lesbic types derived from Greek architecture Early Hellenism has survived on the facades and
and painting adorn walls, coffered ceilings, sar- walls of several royal and princely Macedonian
cophagi, pilaster capitals, and false doors in tombs discovered only in recent years. These will
numerous Tarquinian tombs from the late fourth be discussed in detail in the last chapter.
and especially the third century. The only place Painters in Etruria had already used fresco
where we find a three-dimensional, perspective technique during the Archaic period, but in the
meander frieze showing the clear influence of second quarter and especially the middle of the
Apulian vase painting is in Vulci’s François Tomb. fourth century they began applying their pigments

to a much thicker and coarser layer of plaster. In Graecia, especially Tarentum. The adoption of
contrast to older tomb paintings, the plaster, con- various iconographic motifs from Magna Graecia
sisting of three layers, could now be two to three at this same time would suggest as much. These
centimeters thick. Inscribed preliminary drawing, developments were not altogether consistent and
especially of figures, is considerably less common continuous, for in roughly contemporary tombs
than in the sixth and fifth centuries. It is no longer one often sees different painting techniques and
true preparatory drawing, but only serves to styles, some of them more conservative and
roughly block out the later painting. Inscriptions, some more innovative. Whereas the painting in
however, were very often inscribed before being Tarquinian tombs from the closing fifth century
painted. The only detailed preliminary incised and even the early fourth century is still to some
drawing for figures is found in the wall frescoes of extent rooted in the Sub-Archaic in terms of tech-
the Tomb of Orcus I, still from the first half of the nique, style, and to some extent iconography, the
fourth century. Fine outline drawing, which was Tomb of Orcus I, from the second quarter of the
previously common, now generally disappears. fourth century, finally breaks with that tradition
Instead, painters worked with thicker outlines, for good. One indication of this is its use of a dark
dark hatching, or pure color: that is, a subtler background for the first time. This was intended to
gradation of colors including blended pigments suggest the dismal clouds of Hades, but it also
with an eye toward greater three-dimensionality. lends greater three-dimensionality to the figures
Beginning in the mid-fourth century, Etruscan placed in front of it. In this phase Etrurian paint-
wall painting thus presents a number of technical ing still lacks true chiaroscuro. The paintings of
and stylistic innovations that it doubtless owed to the Tomb of Orcus I still show influences from
Greek painting and likely took over from Magna Classical Greek monumental painting of the clos-
Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus I, right side of the back

wall: detail with the winged death demon Charun,
second quarter of the fourth century ..

ing fifth century, associated with the names of and the large winged figure of a blue-skinned
such masters as Parrhasios, Apollodoros, and Charun. In the loculus in the back wall the tomb’s
Zeuxis. Somewhat later we do find a skillful use founder, “. . . urinas,” reclined on a kline at a ban-
of chiaroscuro effects in the Tomb of Orcus II, quet with others. He held the high office of “zilath
the François Tomb at Vulci, and especially in mechl rasnal,” and his name is now thought to
the tempera paintings on the famous Amazon have been “Murinas,” not “Spurinas,” as proposed
Sarcophagus from Tarquinia, which will be dis- by M. Torelli. “[R]avnthu [Th]efrinai” is probably
cussed separately below. The new painting tech- the grandmother of the two children. On the left
niques and stylistic trends taken over from the wall are fragments of a painting of a magistrate’s
Greeks manifest themselves in Etruscan painting procession dating from the renovation of the
in different ways. The Tomb of the Shields in tomb. M. Morandi’s new reading of an inscription
Tarquinia, for example, still presents a relatively on this wall (“Murin . . . Larth zilachnce”) has
conservative style that emphasizes outlines and made it possible to ascribe the tomb to the gens
internal drawing and makes virtually no attempt Murina, but members of other families were also
at chiaroscuro. Flowing lines and clearly separated, buried in it, like Arnth Velcha, the husband of the
posterlike colors predominate. The François Tomb lovely and richly adorned Velia depicted on the
in Vulci and the Tomb of Orcus II in Tarquinia, right wall. Her profile head is the most famous of
by contrast, exhibit by a more innovative, three- all Etruscan female portraits, one that is included
dimensional painting style that makes use of in every history of Etruscan art. M. Torelli saw in
perspective foreshortening, chiaroscuro effects the center figure in the banquet scene, now no
created by hatching, specific light sources, and a longer visible, the famous Velthur Spurinas, as the
delicately nuanced palette. The simulation of tomb’s founder—together with his wife and per-
lighting effects is especially apparent in the orna- haps his son and grandsons—who was not only
mental friezes on the upper part of the walls of the “zilath mechl rasnal,” or “praetor Etruriae,” but
François Tomb, which employ axonometric per- also the figure who led a Tarquinian fleet contin- Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus I: detail of the back
spective. The light source and the position of the gent in support of Athens against Syracuse in wall with underworld banqueting scene and
viewer have been shifted to the center of the room. 414/413. Torelli thereby arrived at a historically genealogical inscription, second quarter of the
We find this same principle at work somewhat based date for the tomb of the closing fifth cen-
later in the dogtooth and rosette frieze of the tury, or around 400. Today, for various reasons,
Tomb of the Typhon. The animal frieze just below this can no longer be maintained. The painting
the ornamental one in the François Tomb seems and inscription on the left wall refer to the tomb’s
more draftsmanly, by contrast, with thick outlines rebuilder in the first half of the third century,
softened by shading. when it is certain to have belonged to the gens
The Tomb of Orcus I was discovered near Murina, a “gens nova” well known to us from
Tarquinia’s modern cemetery in 1868, and for a Volsinii, Chiusi, and Perugia and allied by mar-
long time the dates assigned to it varied widely. riage with the gens Curuna. It is likely that the
It is now generally considered to date from the Murina were the owners of the Tomb of Orcus I
second quarter of the fourth century. The tomb from the start, meaning that the family tomb of
chamber, with a gabled roof, relief beams, and the much more famous gens Spurina must be
originally three loculi, still follows the architec- sought elsewhere. Torelli argued that the painter
tural scheme seen at the turn from the fifth to the of this outstanding tomb was either a Greek—
fourth century. It was probably in the first third of perhaps from Attica—or a painter from Magna
the third century that the tomb was linked to the Graecia who was influenced by the art of Attica
younger Tomb of Orcus II by way of a connecting and fully aware of the innovations in Greek paint-
passage (called Tomb of Orcus III), whose ceiling ing from the last decades of the fifth century, that
is in part decorated with coffers, in part with sim- is the time of Zeuxis (who probably came from
ple beams. This construction occasioned a num- southern Italy or Sicily but who also worked in
ber of architectural changes in both tombs, even Ionian Asia Minor and in Macedonia).
changes to the paintings. The paintings in Orcus I The later Tomb of Orcus II is now generally
depicted banquet scenes, now only partially pre- dated to the third quarter of the fourth century.
served, which were clearly set in the hereafter, as The painting in its large, roughly square chamber
indicated by the dark clouds in the background with a hip roof, relief beams, and pilasters depicts

a nekyia with gods of the underworld, Greek Archaic period. We also find such a kylikeion
heroes, and Etruscan demons, most of them iden- set with precious vessels in a tomb in Nola, in
tified by inscriptions. Included are scenes from Campania, from the second half of the fourth
the Odyssey showing Odysseus and Achilles in the century. The tomb’s entrance is flanked by
underworld, with the “hinthial Teriasals” (shade Herakles, who is abducting Cerberus from Hades,
of the seer Tiresias) to some extent representing and Theseus, the Athenian hero, who could be an
the Greek prototype of an Etruscan seer and allusion to the alliance between the Tarquinia of
haruspex. Hades is depicted as a rocky, swampy the Spurina and Athens. The depiction of nekyia
landscape of reeds inhabited by large serpents, in the Tomb of Orcus II must have been patterned
with a dark, cloudy sky. It is further populated by after paintings and vase paintings from Greece,
Achmemrum/Agamemnon, Eivas/Aiax, most likely Magna Graecia. The painting style is
These/Theseus, and Peirithoos—guarded by the distinguished by chiaroscuro effects and
demon Tuchulcha—Sispes/Sisyphus, Herakles, a delicately nuanced palette. The “animulae”
the enthroned rulers of the underworld Aita/ would seem to indicate that the paintings express
Hades and Phersipnei/Persephone, a three-headed Orphic-Pythagorean notions about the afterlife.
monster (a hydra, or more likely Cerberus), and The aristocratic family that owned the tomb
the three-bodied Cerun/Geryon. A small black apparently wished to emphasize its link to Greek
“soul,” what Virgil calls an “animulae” or “eidola,” “ancestors” and hence to underscore its ancient
perches in a little tree. A kylikeion with splendid lineage and its affiliation with Greek culture.
gilt-bronze vessels and two youths, one with M. Torelli presumed that the founder of this
wings and accordingly probably a genius— tomb was a grandson of Velthur named Avle,
perhaps Eros or Hypnos and Thanatos—indicate who distinguished himself in battles with Rome
that the banqueting ancestors, unfortunately in 358 and 351.
now lost, resided in this heroic ambience in the The paintings in Orcus III, the section con-
Homeric mold and thus participated in Greek necting the two Orcus tombs, are now considered
culture in Elysium. Kylikeia had been traditional by some to have been painted around the same
features of Etruscan banquets since the Late time as those in Orcus II, and not later, as was
Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II, loculus in the

right wall: detail with blond youth and kylikeion
with metal vessels, third quarter of the fourth
century ..
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of Orcus II: detail of

the right wall with winged death demon Tuchulcha
and Theseus in the underworld, third quarter of the

generally held by earlier scholars (M. Cataldi, for lished and documented. A thorough study is soon
example, dated them to the end of the third cen- to be presented by A. Maggiani. The nineteenth-
tury). Their violent depiction in a niche of the century drawings by G. Mariani are important
blinding of “Cuclu” (Polyphemus) by “Uthuste” for our knowledge of numerous details. It is a
(Odysseus) and his comrades is distinguished by a spacious four-chamber tomb with a cruciform
very heavy black outlines and broad areas of shad- ground plan, connecting doors and windows, and
ing. It attests to the popularity of the Odyssey a hip roof with columen and crossbeams in the
myths in late Etruscan sepulchral art, especially center chamber, where the wall paintings are con-
Volterran urn reliefs. centrated. A number of genealogical inscriptions,
The Tomb with Pilaster and Female Figure some relatively long, ascribe the tomb to the gens
and the Ceisinie Tomb must have been created at Velcha, which distinguished itself in military
roughly the same time as the Tomb of Orcus II. conflicts with Rome. However, isolated members
Neither of them survives. The former had traces of other clans like the Aprthnai and Camna were
of large-scale figures, among them a richly bejew- buried here as well. Danielson (1932) has recon-
eled woman who can be compared favorably with structed a genealogical table spanning three
Tarquinia, Museo Archeologico: end of the female profile heads in the Tomb of the Shields. generations. The figural compositions are sym-
sarcophagus of Larth Alvethna painted with battle Among its inscriptions there was even a later one metrically arranged and depict family members
scenes, last quarter of the fourth century .. in Latin. The four-chambered Ceisinie Tomb can at different life stages and from different genera-
be compared in type and iconography with Orcus tions. The tomb’s founder, Larth Velcha, and his
tombs and the Tomb of the Shields. Its paintings father, Velthur Velcha, are each portrayed twice
are known only from the eighteenth-century with their wives Velia Seitithi and Ravnthu
Smuglewicz engravings published by Byres. Their Aprthnai: the father and mother are shown once
grapevine frieze and demons are reminiscent of at a banquet, the other time gloriously enthroned.
Orcus I, their serpent gable of Orvieto’s Golini As though singling him out for veneration by her
Below left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, back Tomb II. Of particular interest are the large- grandchildren and other descendants, the wife
chamber: back wall with painted shields, third format pilaster figures, a youth and two demons points a finger at her husband. Velthur Velcha
quarter of the fourth century ..
armed with serpents. is presented with a naked torso and holding a
The Tomb of the Shields, from the third scepter, following the standard iconography of
Below right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, main
chamber: back wall with underworld scenes, third quarter of the fourth century, was discovered in Zeus-Tinia, and is thus further exalted as a worthy
quarter of the fourth century .. 1870, but to this day it has not been properly pub- ancestor. The banquet scenes in the back section

of the tomb are set in a heroic hereafter. Only region. Fragments of Larth Velcha’s sarcophagus,
the men lounge on klines; the women are shown identified by an inscription, and of two other sar-
seated in front of the opulently set tables and sur- cophagi are incorporated into the masonry of
rounded by servants and musicians. In the front Tarquinia’s lovely medieval church, Santa Maria
of the tomb there are multifigured processions, di Castello.
most notably Larth Velcha’s departure for the Three painted chamber tombs in the
beyond in a kind of processus triumphalis. From Porano area south of Orvieto/Volsinii have
his attendants it is clear that he is a zilath, or high been known since 1863 and 1883, respectively:
magistrate. There are also musicians and runners, the Golini Tombs I and II and the Tomb of the
namely two cornicines (horn players), two liticines Hescanas. Their aristocratic owners, the Leinie,
(trumpeters), lictores, and a man carrying a fold- Vercna, and Hescana, who were probably interre-
ing chair. M. Morandi has recently published lated, presumably had their residences in this
more precise readings of some of the inscriptions, lovely region outside the city of Volsinii. In recent
with minor revisions. The text on the diptych years A. E. Feruglio and F.-H. Massa-Pairault
held by a winged genius—probably the genius of have once again examined the style, iconography,
the family and symbol of the continuity of the and ideology of the wall paintings in these
gens—indicates a sacnisa (ritual of sacrifice), or tombs. The paintings of the two Golini tombs
some other sort of sacred rite, was performed were detached from the walls in 1950 and have
here in the tomb, “thui eith suthith,” apparently by been reassembled in tentlike structures in the
the tomb’s founder. The continuous frieze with Museo Nazionale Archeologico next to Orvieto’s
shields and inscriptions in the back chamber sym- famous cathedral. There is now general agree-
bolizes the clan’s ideals. The tradition of placing ment about the dating of the three tombs. Golini
or hanging shields in tombs goes back to the late Tomb I dates from the middle of the fourth cen-
Ice Age and is found in such early painting as that tury (or shortly before), Golini Tomb II some-
of the Campana Tomb at Veii. The painting style what later, from the third quarter of the fourth
is primarily draftsmanly, with posterlike colors century, and the Tomb of the Hescanas from the
and vivid outlines. There is relatively little shad- closing years of the fourth century. The two
ing except for the women’s flesh tones. Its color- Golini tombs were probably executed by the
ing may be described as tetrachromatic. M. Torelli same painting workshop, though the paintings
sees stylistic precedents mainly in the Campanian of Golini I are of distinctly higher quality.
Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, left side of the chamber,

right portion of the entry wall: scenes of prepa-
ration for an underworld banquet, with butcher
shop (nineteenth-century watercolor), middle of

Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, left part of the chamber,
left portion of the back wall: scenes of preparation
for an underworld banquet, with baking oven
(nineteenth-century watercolor), middle of the
The wall paintings of the two Golini tombs, extremely high-ranking “zilath mechl rasnal,” or
highly realistic in style, provide fascinating praetor Etruriae. F.-H. Massa-Pairault has inter-
insights into everyday social and public life in preted the pictorial programs of the Golini tombs
Etruscan Velzna/Volsinii in the Late Classical as illustrations of a kind of “good government,” or
period. As usual, they glorify the values of the “concordia” between the polis’s different social
aristocratic ruling class, but at the same time classes. The fragmentary warrior figures in the
inscriptions expressly identify the lower-class ser- gable of Golini II could represent Trojan War
vants. This appears to be a reflection of the social heroes, among them possibly the two Aiaxes as
upheavals that the literary sources tell us took mythical Greek ancestors, as in the François Tomb
place in the last decades of Etruscan Volsinii. in Vulci. Iconographic and stylistic comparisons
Their chief scenes are (a) the reditus, or arrival in are provided by the painted clay plaque from the
the underworld, of newly deceased members of temple at Celle, in Falerii Veteres (mid- to third
the gens Leinie or Vercna riding in bigas, in some quarter of the fourth century); for the script of
instances accompanied by a female demon, and the elogia and the black clouds in the back-
with symbols of their rank (for example, that of ground, by Tarquinia’s Tomb of Orcus I; for the
haruspex in Golini Tomb II); (b) the preparation presence of the underworld rulers and the cloak
for the banquet (only in Golini I); and (c) the of Aita/Hades, by the Tomb of Orcus II; for the
banquet with ancestors in the underworld. In profiles of the female heads, by Orcus I and the
Golini I, the banquet is also taking place in the Tomb with Pilaster and Female Figure (Tarquinia);
presence of the divine underworld rulers Aita for the serpents in the gable, by the Ceisinie Tomb
(Hades) and Phersipnei (Persephone). It is the (Tarquinia); and for the procession of apparitores,
preparation for the banquet, including depictions by the scene on the entry wall of the roughly con-
of a butcher shop and a large baking oven, which temporary Tarquinian Tomb of the Shields. The
provides us with interesting details about every- typically Etruscan and wholly un-Greek iconogra-
day Etruscan life. In Golini Tomb II, a procession phy of the magistrate’s procession, with togati,
of togati with wind instruments is of special inter- apparitores, and musicians, appears in a series
est. Members of a full five generations of the gens of third-century Tarquinian tomb paintings
Leinie are represented in Golini I, almost all of (Bruschi Tomb, Tomb of the Meeting, Tomb 5512,
them identified by inscriptions. The inscriptions Tomb of the Typhon) and in the third and second
also include numerous official titles, including the centuries, as M. Cristofani and more recently

A. Maggiani have detailed, in the reliefs on Medusa). For the underworld banquet with Above: Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, left side of the
numerous southern Etruscan sarcophagi, and ancestors, we have splendid parallels in the Tomb chamber: section of the left wall with scenes of
northern Etruscan urns. The importance of the of the Shields in Tarquinia and the Tomb of the preparation for an underworld banquet, middle
magistrate figure is also reflected in roughly con- Triclinium in Cerveteri. Toward the end of the
temporary tomb paintings in southern Italy, for fourth century a painted banqueting scene Below: Orvieto, Golini Tomb II, left wall: section
example in the Spinazzo necropolis at Paestum appears for the first time in the Greek sphere on with procession of togati, third quarter of the
and in Daunian Arpi (pinax in the Tomb of the the templelike facade of a monumental chamber fourth century ..

Right: Orvieto, Tomb of the Hescanas, left portion
of the entry wall: harnessed biga (original and
computer reconstruction), end of the fourth
century ..
Below: Orvieto, Tomb of the Hescanas, right wall:

journey to the underworld with female death
demons (original and computer reconstruction),
end of the fourth century ..
tomb, namely in Aghios Athanassios, near certain northern Etruscan epigraphic peculiarities
Thessaloníki, in Macedonia. It remains to be seen seen in Orcus I and II support his assumption that
whether those high-quality, colorful paintings, Orvietan painting workshops were also active in
which are to be published by M. Tsimbidou- Tarquinia. Two wholly different scripts appear in
Avloniti, represent a nocturnal aristocratic sym- the Orvietan Golini Tomb I. The one that is used
posium with hetairoi or a banquet set in the in the inscriptions above the higher-quality ban-
afterlife. In this same temporal and iconographic quet scene with ancestors very closely resembles
context, one might also refer to the cupola paint- that of the elogia in Orcus I. Magianni feels that
ings in the famous Thracian tomb at Kazanlak, in the chief painter in Golini I came from northern
Bulgaria (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). In any Etruria, possibly the Chiusan region, then after
case, the pictorial programs of Macedonian and moving to Volsinii tried to conform to the writing
Thracian tomb paintings from the second half of conventions of his wealthy patrons in the compo-
the fourth century are quite clearly dominated by sition of the elogia. H. Rix had already noted the
gods, underworld figures, and heroic cycles. One presence of North Etruscan, probably Chiusan
thinks, for example, of the ceiling paintings in the scribes in Orvieto/Volsinii. In any case, there is no
Thracian Ostrusha Tomb in Shipka. denying that it was these Orvietan tomb paintings,
There are a number of close parallels few as they are, that set certain precedents for how
between the iconographic programs of the Golini specific iconographic formulas are later worked
Tomb I and the Tomb of Orcus I in Tarquinia. out, which were useful in glorifying the gentes of
A. Maggiani has even suggested that the two tombs aristocratic patrons.
(and possibly the later Tomb of Orcus II as well) The wall frescoes in the Tomb of the
were executed by the same painter. In his opinion, Hescanas are the least known of the Orvietan

tomb paintings, also the least well preserved. This men kissing, a purification scene including the
tomb, discovered in 1883, was used over a very sacrifice of an animal on an altar, and a banquet
long time. In contrast to those of the two Golini with ancestors. Some of the figures are identified
tombs, its paintings are still in situ, but they are by name and official titles like “zilath,” and repre-
badly faded and in some places destroyed. Thanks sent members of the noble Hescana family, some
to the most recent restoration (1998–2000), and of them portrayed twice. This “continuous narra-
with the aid of new computer technology, the tive” is one of the earliest representations of the
architect R. de Rubertis has managed to produce journey into the underworld in Etruscan tomb
new color reconstruction drawings that clearly painting and emphasizes the values of the aristo-
surpass in fidelity those of D. Cardella from 1893. cratic family that owned the tomb.
These were recently published by A. E. Feruglio. The group of Orvietan tomb paintings was
The wall frescoes, executed somewhat later than greatly enriched with the sensational discovery of
those of the Golini tombs (end of the fourth an additional painted chamber tomb in the fall
century) and of lesser quality, quite obviously of 2003, even though this new tomb—called the
present different stages in the journey to the Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga—is not in the
underworld. It is possible to identify, among other territory of Orvieto but that of Chiusi, namely in
features, a biga carrying the deceased, several the Pianacce necropolis near Sarteano. For the
female death demons, including winged figures discovery and publication of this tomb, which Sarteano, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga: section of
and one holding a scroll containing the fatum of is unique in many respects, we are indebted to the left wall with red-haired demon on a quadriga,
the deceased, a group of three apparitores, two Alessandra Minetti, the director of Sarteano’s last third of the fourth century ..

Sarteano, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga: section of
the back-wall gable with hippocampus, last third of

Above: Orvieto, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga: Museo Archeologico. Since the summer of 2005, tone it has been interpreted by a number of
section of the left wall with sea frieze, last third of the tomb has been opened to the public on Etruscologists as a variant form of Charun. The
the fourth century .. specific days. Its animated and colorful paintings black cloud in the background, symbolizing the
survive only in fragments, in fact only on the underworld and serving to enhance the figure’s
Below: Orvieto, Museo Faina: red-figure rope-
left wall and the left side of the back wall. Their plasticity, we know from the Tomb of Orcus I in
handled amphora from the Vanth Group with
death demon, last third of the fourth century .. iconography and style, and the remnants of grave Tarquinia of few decades earlier. There are paral-
goods now housed in the Sarteano museum, lels for the monstrous serpent in the gable of
suggest that they date from the last decades of the Golini Tomb II, and even more clearly on several
fourth century. The preliminary drawings were red-figure Orvietan vases from the Vanth Group
not always followed in the course of painting and dating from the last decades of the fourth cen-
were repeatedly revised. The images clearly refer tury, the iconography of which is dominated by
to the afterlife, and they include (from left to demons and other denizens of the underworld.
right) a fragmentary winged figure; the epony- Close study of the style and iconography of the
mous quadriga with two griffins, two lions, and new Sarteano tomb reveals that two different
a demon of uncertain gender with fiery red hair painters were at work, perhaps a master and his
and light skin in front of a black cloud; two apprentice. It also suggests that they may have
men lounging on klines at a banquet, the older, been vase painters somewhat inexperienced in
bearded one tenderly caressing the younger; a large-scale painting. In any case, the workshop in
young man in a red-bordered tunic holding a question was certainly not either of the ones
wine sieve (colinum); and a huge serpent with responsible for the two Golini tombs or the
three bearded heads and a flamelike tail. The left Hescana family tomb. Nevertheless, this tomb
side of the back-wall gable is filled with a large underscores the close historical and cultural rela-
blue-and-red hippocampus, for which there are tionship between Chiusi and Orvieto/Volsinii
precedents and parallels in Tarquinian tomb even in the period after the great Porsenna, “king
painting and South Etruscan sarcophagus reliefs, of Chiusi and Velzna” (Pliny), and in terms of
especially those of a Tarquinian mold. The figures chronology represents a remarkable novelty in
are not identified by inscriptions, but they are tomb painting in the territory of Chiusi, for virtu-
definitely inhabitants of the underworld. The two ally all the region’s other examples date from the
men on klines may represent the deceased and an Late and Sub-Archaic phase.
ancestor. The red-haired charioteer is unique in Among the small group of painted tombs in
Etruscan demonology, and despite its light flesh the Vezza Valley, in the border region between the

Orvieto, Museo Faina: red-figure column-
krater from the Vanth Group with quadriga and
hippocampi, last third of the fourth century ..

p. 221
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, right portion of the
left wall of the main chamber: detail of the bearded
head of Velthur Velcha in three-quarter view, third
pp. 222–23
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, main chamber, right
portion of the left wall: detail with the enthroned
ancestors Velthur Velcha and Ravnthu Aprthnai, third
p. 224
p. 225
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Shields, right wall of the main
Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, right part of the chamber, left
chamber: detail of the banquet scene with head of
wall: section with profile head of a youth, middle of
Ravnthu Aprthnai in three-quarter view, third quarter
p. 226 p. 227
Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, left part of the chamber, right Orvieto, Golini Tomb I, left part of the chamber, left
wall: section of the scene of preparation for a banquet wall: section of the scene of preparation for a banquet
with a servant at the drink table, middle of the fourth with a servant at the table, middle of the fourth
century .. century ..
p. 229
p. 228
Sarteano, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga: section
Sarteano, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga, left wall:
of the left wall with an older and a younger man
section with three-headed bearded serpent, last third
reclining at a banquet, last third of the fourth
century ..
p. 231
p. 230
Vulci, François Tomb, “atrium,” left portion of the
Sarteano, Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga: section of
back wall: detail with the Theban fratricide of
the left wall with red-haired demon in front of dark
Eteocles and Polynices, third quarter of the fourth
clouds, last third of the fourth century ..
century ..
pp. 232–33
Vulci, François Tomb, main chamber: section of the
top continuous frieze with three-dimensional
meander, fighting animal scenes, and doves and
rosettes, third quarter of the fourth century ..
pp. 234–35
Florence, Museo Archeologico, Amazon Sarcophagus
from Tarquinia: section of the front side with battle
between a Greek warrior and a mounted Amazon,
third quarter of the fourth century ..
p. 236
Vulci, François Tomb, “atrium,” right wall: detail of
the young Arnza with bird, third quarter of the fourth
century ..
territories of Tarquinia, Volsinii/Orvieto, and until just recently they were preserved in the Villa Above: Blera, Painted Grotto II: section of the
Falerii, there is also a chamber tomb from the Albani in Rome (Torlonia private collection). continuous wave frieze (original and drawing), first
half of the fourth century ..
first half of the fourth century that was discov- With financial support from the German Bucerius
ered before 1832 in the Pian Miano area, near Foundation, they were recently thoroughly
Below: Blera, Painted Grotto II: ground plan, cross
Bomarzo, and is generally referred to as the restored and presented to the public for the first section, and longitudinal section, first half of the
Grotta Dipinta (Painted Grotto). Its walls were time in exhibitions in Hamburg and subsequently fourth century ..
mainly adorned with a frieze of waves with leap- in the Castello at Vulci. Because of their stylistic
ing dolphins and a central palmette, also hip- importance, and even more their iconographic
pocampi. It also had protomae and serpents, and ideological significance, these paintings, dat-
somewhat caricatured. Some of these motifs, well ing from the third quarter of the fourth century
known from Tarquinian tomb painting, are also and filled with figures and numerous identifying
found on the sarcophagus (of the wooden chest inscriptions, have had tremendous coverage in
type) of Vel Urinates that was found in the same the scholarly literature, especially in the last
tomb and is now in the British Museum in twenty-five years. Major studies by F. Coarelli and
London. Urinates was an important member of M. Cristofani have sought to place the works in
the family that owned the tomb, which is also their historical, cultural, and temporal context.
documented in Castel d’Asso, Chiusi, Perugia, Coarelli, for example, sees the scene in which
and Volterra. Trojan prisoners are slaughtered by the victorious
Two adjacent chamber tombs in the Casetta Greeks under Achilles in tribute to the fallen
necropolis at Blera have similar wall paintings Patroclus as an allusion to conflicts between
that probably date from the first half of the fourth Rome (Trojans) and (Vulcian) Etruscans (Greeks),
century. The Grotta Dipinta, known already in specifically the killing of Roman prisoners of war
the nineteenth century, is distinguished by an in Tarquinia’s forum in 357. The matching paint-
unfluted center column. In both tombs the walls ing opposite that scene from mythology is based
are divided into a lower band of red, a black frieze on history, recalling inter-Etruscan conflicts a
of waves against a light ground that runs outward full two hundred years before, in the sixth cen-
from a red-and-black lotus blossom in the center tury. The victors are not all clearly identified as
of the back wall, a tall light-colored strip, and a Vulcians by inscriptions; they probably represent
striped frieze at the top. It is still possible to see an alliance of mainly Vulcians (Aulus Vibenna)
preliminary scoring for the ornaments, and the and Chiusans (Larth Ulthes), while the con-
prints of strings used in making the stripes. These quered apparently represent an alliance between
are the only painted tombs in the South Etruscan Tarquinia and Volsinii, with warriors recruited
rock-tomb region. from Volsinii, Sovana, Falerii (?), and Rome. This
The tomb discovered in Vulci in 1857 by cycle also includes the freeing of Caile Vipinas,
Alessandro François and named after him is whom we know from Roman sources as Caelius
unquestionably one of the most exceptional mon- Vibenna, after whom the Caelian Hill was named.
uments of Etruscan tomb painting from the wan- Here we see a deliberate juxtaposition of presti-
ing Late Classical period. Soon after its discovery gious Greek “ancestors” with glorious Etruscan-
most of the paintings, which were concentrated in Vulcian forefathers and their respective military
the central T-shaped main room (anticipating triumphs. According to B. D’Agostino, a parallel is
the later floor plan of the Roman atrium and drawn between the tragic and fatal duel of the two
tablinum) were detached from the walls, and Theban brothers Eteocles and Polynices and the

duel between Cneve Tarchunies and Marce of the Romans wearing the toga picta, as was
Camitlnas. Altogether, an ingenious network of previously maintained, but rather in the Greek
connections and pairings is established between manner, dressed in a richly embroidered purplish
the symmetrically arranged figures and group- himation. His small son Arnthza (formerly taken
ings. The Achilles-Agamemnon alliance against to be a servant), who is also splendidly dressed,
the Trojans can be read as a symbol of omonoia or appears in two places, once next to Vel Saties with
concordia—as opposed to discordia—and thus as a bird on a string and again (together with the
a typically Greek, ethical virtue. Other figures tomb’s founder) to the right next to the door.
Top left: Vulci, François Tomb, main chamber:
and events stand for specific human virtues as Other Greek mythological figures depicted, in
detail of the continuous top frieze with scale
pattern, third quarter of the fourth century .. well. For example, Vel Saties and his aristocratic addition to Nestor and Phoenix, are Eteocles
Vulcian family clearly wished to distance them- and Polynices, Sisyphus, Amphiaraus, Aiax, and
Top right: Vulci, François Tomb, back chamber: selves from these tragic epic and historical scenes, Cassandra. The pattern for the sacrifice of the
back wall with painted imitation of ashlar masonry, and to be seen instead on a par with the paired Trojans must have been a painting, probably from
third quarter of the fourth century ..
Greek heroes Nestor and Phoenix, virtual symbols Magna Graecia. Certain parallels can be seen on
of wisdom and initiative or eloquence—Nestor of the roughly contemporary Sarcophagus of the
Below: Vulci, François Tomb, main chamber:
reconstruction drawing of the “atrium” and skill at divination. The ancestor Vel Saties thereby Priest from Tarquinia, on bronze cistae, and on
“tablinum” with wall paintings, third quarter of underscores his knowledge of Greek culture and Apulian red-figure vases, especially works by the
the fourth century .. Homer’s Iliad. He is not presented as conqueror Dareios Painter. Many of the figures in the

Vulci, François Tomb: section of the continuous
top ornamental frieze with three-dimensional
meander and fighting animals (nineteenth-century
facsimile by Carlo Ruspi and original), third
François Tomb bear a strong resemblance to The famous Amazon Sarcophagus

those in Apulian red-figure vase painting, which (Sarcophagus of Ramtha Huzcnai) from
underscores the close relations between Magna Tarquinia, in the Archaeological Museum in
Graecia and Etruria during the second half of the Florence, dates from roughly the same time. Its
fourth century. C. Weber-Lehmann prefers to tempera paintings on marblelike alabaster, of out-
think of literary sources as the pattern for the standing quality, depict battles between Greeks
Trojan sacrifice. In terms of style and technique, and Amazons. They were probably executed by a
it is interesting to note that the figures in this workshop in Magna Graecia, possibly Tarentum,
scene and in the historical battle scenes are as several scholars, including T. Dohrn and
rendered three-dimensionally, modeled with P. Moreno, have proposed. An Etruscan noble-
hatching, and thus seem more innovative. The woman from Tarquinia was interred in it. In a
Florence, Museo Archeologico, Amazon
Etruscan-style demon figures, by contrast, with brilliant publication, H. Brecoulaki recently ana- Sarcophagus from Tarquinia: end with scene
their precise outlines and a two-dimensional lyzed the features of this unique monument that of a battle between two Amazons and a Greek
application of color, are clearly more conven- link it to the painting of Magna Graecia, its warrior, third quarter of the fourth century ..
tional. Of particular interest are the continuous unusual elements, and its importance for the his-
ornamental friezes in the “tablinium,” portions of tory of Greek painting in general. For example,
which are still in situ. Some of them project a dis- there are clear similarities in technique
tinct three-dimensionality, thanks to the use of between the Amazon Sarcophagus
perspective and the simulation of lighting from and a marble basin painted with
the side. The animal frieze includes a rich variety Nereids riding hippocampi in the
of animals and fantastic creatures on varying Getty Museum in Malibu. It comes
base lines. They fall into eleven different group- from southern Italy, possibly
ings, suggesting that they were based on separate Tarentum, and dates from the second
patterns. Some are patterned after the same pro- half of the fourth century. Both were exe-
totypes as numerous depictions on Apulian red- cuted in tempera on alabaster or marble
figure vases (for example, those of the Iliupersis using unusual pigments. To some extent
and Lycurgus Painters) from the second and third the pinkish ground in both paintings
quarters of the fourth century. The actual tomb anticipates a feature that would become
chamber behind the T-shaped main room is common in the third century in various
painted in the Greek manner in imitation of polychrome vase-painting genres in
ashlar or masonry, something rarely seen in Apulia (Arpi, Canosa) and Sicily
Etruria before this time. (Centuripe). In highly nuanced colors,

the paintings on the Amazon Sarcophagus display somewhat more conservative in style and tech-
chiaroscuro effects, shading, and highlights, that nique than those of the Amazon Sarcophagus and
is to say, the most recent innovations in Greek the François Tomb. R. Fleischer has determined
painting at the time. Based on these relatively that the chest and lid did not originally belong
well-preserved tempera paintings, we can retrace together and that the paintings were executed in
the sequence of steps that produced them as two stages.
described by Pollux in his Onomasticon. First Representative of the pinax genre, docu-
came the preliminary drawing establishing the mented mainly in the Archaic period and partic-
precise placement of the figures. This consisted of ularly in Cerveteri, is the fragment of a clay
hypotyposis (outline drawing), hypographé (brush- plaque from the Faliscan shrine at Celle, near
work), and skiagraphé (the addition of shadows). Falerii Veteres (Cività Castellana), that was dis-
This was followed by the chrosai or epichrosai, covered in 1857 (now in Rome, Museo di Villa
that is, the flat application of the drawing to the Giulia). It is painted with a delicate profile head
ground. Then the colored drawing was modeled of a young man in the typical Late Classical style
by apochrosai, or shading. The final step was the with a large eye rendered in profile. There are
phaitrynein, or application of highlights, what roughly fifty additional fragments of painted clay
Pliny calls splendor. The fact that these sarcopha- plaques that apparently adorned the (interior)
Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia: fragment of a painted
clay plaque from the shrine at Celle, near Falerii
gus paintings are of considerably higher quality walls of the temple, probably elements of friezes.
Veteres/Cività Castellana, with profile head of a and more progressive than contemporary tomb They present isolated figures and floral motifs
youth, middle of the fourth century .. paintings suggests that they were executed by a against a dark background. The paintings are
Greek, probably from Magna Graecia, as is also comparable to profile heads in the Orvietan
indicated by specific iconographic details. Golini Tomb I, but it is also possible to see
Other painted sarcophagi were apparently influences from Magna Graecia. Like Golini
produced in Tarquinia in the second half of the Tomb I, they date from the mid-fourth century.
fourth century, like the Sarcophagus of Red-figure vase painting in Etruria was of
the Priest (from the inscription much greater importance in the fourth century
“Laris Partunu”), which than in the preceding one, especially in the
came from the Faliscan region. It was greatly stimulated by the
Partunu Tomb, presence of émigré potters and vase painters from
discovered in Attica and Magna Graecia (among them follow-
1876, ers of the Meidias Painter, such as the Meleager
and has and Erbach Painters), more in interior centers
recently like Falerii, Orvieto, Chiusi, and Volterra than
been repub- in coastal cities like Cerveteri and Tarquinia.
lished by H. The style and subject matter of these Etruscan
Blanck. The restora- and Faliscan red-figure vases were at first still
tion of 1985/1986 influenced by Attic precedents, but soon began to
allowed him to undertake be patterned after works from southern Italy. We
a detailed appraisal of the know that Magna Graecia and especially the
tempera paintings on the chest of wealthy cultural and art center of Tarentum exer-
the sarcophagus, which is made of cised an increasingly strong influence on Etruria
Parian marble. The lid, presenting a over the course of the fourth century. The most
reclining bearded man in Late Classical important scholars of Etruscan and Faliscan
style, is virtually identical to two sarcopha- red-figure vase painting from the Late Classical
gus lids from the necropolis of Ste. Monique in and Early Hellenistic periods are B. Adembri,
Carthage, and it was therefore originally probably J. D. Beazley, M. Cristofani, M. Del Chiaro,
intended for a Phoenician. The Etruscan painting, F. Gilotta, M. Harari, M. Martelli, M. Pasquinucci,
subsequently applied in Tarquinia, depicts two and G. P. Pianu.
very popular subjects of later Etruscan funereal A number of red-figure vases, mainly from
art: an Amazonomachy and Achilles’ slaughter of the decades between 360 and 340, present obvious
the Trojan prisoners, with the addition of reflections of monumental Greek painting in sub-
Etruscan demons of death. These paintings seem ject matter, style, and technique. To be sure, these

Tarquinia, Museo Archeologico: side of the
Sarcophagus of the Priest from Tarquinia, with
painting of an Amazonomachy, ca. 330/320 ..
are more apparent in Italiot, especially Apulian, Painter, a second-generation master from the
vase painting than in that of Etruria and Falerii second quarter of the fourth century, depicting
(or even Attica). Notable earlier studies on this the abduction of Cephalus by the goddess Eos
subject, so important for the history of painting, and the boxing match between Peleus and Thetis,
are those by E. Langlotz and T. Dohrn; the most as well as animals fighting on the neck of the
recent one was published by N. Hoesch. Among vase that betray the influences of Apulian vase
these reflections are the incorporation of land- painting. Among the other highly ambitious
scape elements (ground, boulders, cliffs, trees) subjects we find antics of the Olympian gods,
and architecture (temples, naiskoi, peristyles); the including Herakles, such as the contests between
use of linear perspective in the depiction of build- Athena and Poseidon or Apollo and Marsyas, the
ings; a tendency to stack figures in depth on vary- Argonauts, the slaughter of the Trojan prisoners,
ing base lines; more clearly differentiated picture and Bellerophon and the Chimaera.
planes, foreshortening, overlapping, and varied Four large vessels that can be attributed to
points of view (skenographia); the use of bright the Perugia Painter, who worked in the tradition of
opaque colors such as red, brown, white, yellow, the Attic Talos Painter, present mythological sub-
and gold—at times on top of a black glaze—for ject matter similar to that of the Faliscan vases.
added three-dimensionality; the rendering of One of his most prominent successors is the
metal objects with thinned varnish, white, and Sommavilla Painter, who created large, theatrical
yellow; shading and modeling by means of hatch- compositions. It is not always easy to determine
ing; highlights; distinct anatomical details, fea- where these painters had their workshops, espe-
tures of age, and expressions of emotion; and cially since they probably worked in different
especially a tendency toward evident pathos in places at different times. However it is possible to
poses and physiognomies (ethographia). Despite identify a group of roughly thirty vessels notable
their different supports and mediums, the (lost) for their Attic influences and eclectic stylistic fea-
panel painting and the vase painting are some- tures that were produced in Vulci in the first half
what similar in their fundamental principles. of the fourth century. From the second quarter
The center of fourth-century red-figure of the fourth century it is also possible to isolate
vase painting in central Italy was unquestionably another group of roughly twenty vases with paint-
Falerii, where we know that the Attic-influenced ings on Apollonian, Dionysian, underworld, and
Diespater Painter was employed beginning as funerary subjects, some of them with highly ani-
early as around 400. Notable among his succes- mated scenes like the punishment of the Giants,
sors are the Villa Giulia 1755, Aurora, and Nazzano Perseus battling with the Gorgons, and the
Painters, who were more influenced by the paint- struggle between Arimaspeans and griffins, with
ing of Magna Graecia. Faliscan red-figure vessels increasingly obvious influences from Campanian
produced by the first two generations, roughly vase painting, evident for example in their floral
between 400 and 360, were even exported; we find decoration. The most prominent single personal-
them, for example, in Populonia, Liguria, and the ity is the Settecamini Painter (working near
upper Tiber Valley. One superb example is a Orvieto), from the mid-fourth century, who
volute krater in the Villa Giulia by the Aurora mainly depicted Greek myths.

Facing page: Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia: Faliscan Beginning in the middle of the fourth cen- and Turmuca Groups and the works of the
red-figure volute krater by the Aurora Painter from tury, Faliscan vase painting became increasingly Mainz Painter. The demons on them are often
Falerii Veteres/Cività Castellana with fighting
standardized, with a consequent loss of quality. grotesque. Their painters demonstrated their skill
animals (top) and the rape of Cephalus by
The iconography itself was reduced to only a few at foreshortening and three-quarter views, also at
Eos/Aurora on a quadriga, second quarter of the
fourth century .. subjects of a predominantly Dionysian nature— the use of hatching and polychromy, all of which
prominently satyrs and Maenads—as well as reflect the achievements of large-scale Greek
profile heads and large birds. Its cursive, sketchy wall and panel painting. With the Vanth Group,
style is aptly referred to in scholarship as “Fluid.” Orvieto offers typical, somewhat “baroque” sub-
A few workshops specialized in small plates ject matter filled with funereal symbolism includ-
(Faliscan Genucilia pottery), small skyphoi, ing underworld creatures, as well as other vases
and bell kraters (the Full Sakkos Group), and from the Settecamini tombs and those of the
oinochoae (the Faliscan Barbarano Group). In Painter of the Florence Centauromachy, whereas
addition, there are the red-figure vases in the its normal ceramic production was apparently
sovradipinta technique, like the Sokra and Glàukes influenced by Faliscan and Chiusan imports and
groups. The Sokra Group takes its name from a precedents. Among the subjects on Vulcian and
cylix signed by a Greek metic with the name Orvietan vases from the third and last quarters of
“Sokra[tes].” the fourth century we find the Amazonomachy
It was probably Faliscan craftsmen who, and Centauromachy in addition to underworld
soon after the middle of the fourth century and scenes with Hades and Persephone, demons,
especially in the last quarter of the century, devel- and serpents.
oped the virtual mass production of red-figure In northern Etruria, following a period in
vases, also in Cerveteri, and enjoyed considerable which red-figure vases were more clearly Attic in
commercial success, in part thanks to exports style, most notably those of the Argonaut Group
(as far as Aleria on Corsica and the western from the first half of the fourth century (a cylix
Mediterranean). As in Falerii, Dionysian subjects, from the Siena area is signed “Pheziu Paves”),
winged female figures, and profile heads predomi- production is dominated beginning in the mid-
nated. Best known is the so-called Torcop Group, fourth century by the Clusium-Volaterrae Group,
which specialized in oinochoae (the “Form VII” whose vases, including kraters, kylikes, kantharoi,
in imitation of metal). Their production of and even figural vessels like duck-shaped askoi,
Genucilia plates, frequently with female profile were intended for an upmarket clientele and were
heads, also followed Faliscan models. In addition, also exported, for example to Populonia, Aleria,
we find overpainted red-figure vessels like those and Etruria Padana. The painters of this work-
of the so-called Fantasma Group. Of particular shop, among them the Sarteano and Montediano
interest is a red-figure Caeretan skyphos from the Painters, first worked in Chiusi—preferring
third quarter of the fourth century, on which a Dionysian and erotic subject matter—then
man and woman are taking leave from each other mainly in Volterra, where in the last decades of
in the presence of Charun; the couples’ heads the fourth century and in the early third century
closely resemble those of certain figures in the they are especially known for their chalice-
contemporary Tarquinian Tomb of the Shields. shaped kraters, so-called kelebai, which were
Red-figure vases were also produced in generally used as urns for ashes, and whose
Tarquinian workshops, the majority of them iconographic repertoire included mythological
resembling Caeretan examples. Even at the begin- subjects (the Geranomachy, for example) and
ning of the fourth century a number of vessels funereal symbolism. Among these artists the
had been produced there with mythological sub- Hesione and Montebradoni Painters stand out in
ject matter in the Attic style. terms of quality, with their chiaroscuro effects
From the second half of the fourth century and hatching. Among the less talented artists are
we find a group of relatively ambitious, large- the Asciano and Monteriggioni painters, the
format vases (kraters and stamnoi) of an exclu- painter of the Tuscan Column, and the Nun
sively funerary nature in Vulci. They often Painter, who mainly employed the popular motif
present mythological subjects, generally tragic of profile heads.
and violent ones, and demons, like the Alkestis

Final Flowering and Conclusion
The Early and High Hellenistic Period (/–End of
the Third/Beginning of the Second Century ..)
This period saw the last, decisive conflicts In the Hellenistic period, major influences
between various Etruscan cities—above all on the art of Etruria first came from Magna
Tarquinia—and the Romans. These wars, which Graecia, but then in the second century the art
flared up repeatedly, were finally concluded by of Asia Minor (Pergamon) took on greater impor-
the capture and destruction of Orvieto/Volsinii tance. Rome became increasingly influential in
Veteres in 265/64 and of Cività Castellana/Falerii this regard as well. In the Early Hellenistic phase,
Veteres in 241, with subsequent forced resettle- a number of the motifs and subjects employed
ment of the population to Bolsena/Volsinii Novi can be seen as elements of a “koine.” In Etruscan
and Santa Maria di Faleri/Falerii Novi. Etruscan art we now find “individual portraits” in painting,
territories were confiscated, Etruscan cities bronze, and clay, as well as a flowering of relief art
were forced to join in federation with Rome, on sarcophagi in southern Etruria (especially in
various Latin colonies were founded along the Tarquinia and its territory; the most productive
Tyrrhenian coast—Cosa as early as 273—and center is Tuscania, though a few examples are also
slavery and latifundia culture became more seen in Chiusi) and on urns in the north (espe- Above: Tarquinia, Giglioli Tomb: section of the left
widespread. The region’s economy continued to cially Volterra, Chiusi, and Perugia). Examples wall with a shield with an amphora as episema (sign
or badge), around 300 .. or shortly before.
be based on agriculture and, in some parts of of stone sculpture, most of it of a sepulchral
Etruria, especially Arezzo, smelting and metal- nature, are found mainly in Chiusi, Volterra, and
Facing page: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Typhon: detail
working. Some of Etruria’s princes collaborated Cerveteri. Notable works from the genre of sculp- of the pilaster with ornamental friezes on the
with the Romans, leading to social upheavals like ture are closed terracotta gables and high-quality capital and winged Typhon, end of the third
those in Volsinii and Arezzo. Political and social roof terracottas from temples of the Early and century ..
tensions came to a head in events like the Senatus High Hellenistic period in Arezzo, Chianciano,
Consultum de Baccanalibus of 186, which out- Volterra, Vetulonia, Populonia, Luni, Talamone,
lawed Bacchic rites. The period also saw the last Falerii Veteres, and Civitalba in the Marches.
galley raids on Etruria (Battle of Talamone in Much as in Latium and northern Campania, we
225). The Second Punic War was a crucial event also see a flourishing production of votive terra-
for Etruria as well, as many Etruscans fought cottas, especially anatomical pieces and votive
on Hannibal’s side against the Romans (docu- heads. Bronze casting enjoyed a last flowering
mented, for example, by an inscription in a in northern Etruria in the form of votive stat-
Tarquinian tomb). In North Etruria especially, we uettes, some of them with a tendency toward
can see from the mass production of relief urns elongation and abstraction (the Ombra della Sera
that the lower classes (ex servi) were on the rise. from Volterra), large statues like The Orator of
In general, the cities of northern and northeastern Trasimeno, mirrors and cistae (especially in
Etruria took on increasing importance. The Vulci and Praeneste), and vessels, some of them
process of Romanization—and in terms of lan- adorned with figures. Architecture continued to
guage Latinization—proceeded more rapidly in be generally conservative in nature, rejecting
southern Etruria than in the north. One result the use of opus caementicium, which had been
was that the leading Etruscan gentes, particularly invented in Campania in the third century. The
those of Tarquinia, would become members of the last Etruscan city walls were built at this time
ruling senatorial class in Rome. (Perugia), and existing ones (mostly in opus
FINAL FLOWERING AND CONCLUSION 245

Rome, Museo di Villa Giulia: patera from the
Pocala Group from Capena with depiction of war
elephant, ca. 280 ..
quadratum or opus polygonalis) were restored. In in Tarquinia, before dying out over the course of
some places they were strengthened with round- the second half of the third century. For a long
arched gates adorned with sculpture (Volterra, time the last Tarquinian tomb paintings proved
Perugia, and Falerii Novi). Oppida (Roman-style especially difficult to date, owing to their poor
towns) and fortifications like those at Poggio state of preservation or complete destruction,
Civitella near Montalcino were constructed to their heterogeneous styles, and in many cases the
protect Etruria from increasing pressure from absence of adequate and firmly dated material in
Rome. In residential architecture we now find other realms of Etruscan and Greek art for com-
atrium and peristyle houses, as in Roselle and parison. Scholars have arrived at widely divergent
Vetulonia. A unique example of sacred architec- dates for a number of tombs like the Tomb of the
ture is the terraced shrine with a temple and the- Typhon. Some tomb paintings were even assigned
ater in Castel Secco, near Arezzo. Early Hellenism to the second half of the second century or the
again saw the development of monumental and years around 100—among them Vulci’s François
richly executed tomb architecture, in Cerveteri Tomb—although by that time the Romanization
(large hypogea with emphasis on the main bur- of Etruria was largely complete. This uncertainty
ial), the southern Etruscan rock-tomb area was the result of overreliance on stylistic criteria.
(Norchia, Castel d’Asso, Sovana) with cubiculum, More recent studies since the 1980s, particularly
porticus, and temple tombs, and in northern those by G. Colonna and F. Serra Ridgway, have
Etruria with barrel-vaulted tombs (Chiusi, considered not only style and iconography, but
Perugia, and Cortona) and tombs imitating also tomb architecture and types, sarcophagi,
houses (Volumni Hypogeum near Perugia). inscriptions, and grave goods, especially pottery
Etruscan tomb painting enjoyed a last, and coins. Thanks to them we can now with con-
splendid flowering in Early Hellenism, especially siderable assurance date the demise of Etruscan
246 FINAL FLOWERING AND CONCLUSION

tomb painting to the second half of the third No examples of large-scale painting from
century, or the period before the Second Punic Greece or Magna Graecia in the Early and High
War (Hannibal’s War). Of course many tombs Hellenistic period have survived. Nevertheless,
belonging to the Etruscan gentry were used for we know of a number of paintings from the writ-
additional burials and tended by relatives for a ten sources. For example, we are told of a painting
long time after that event. In the last two decades in the Athenaion at Syracuse depicting one of the
only a few tombs have been published with a battles of the tyrant Agathocles (r. 304–289), also
complete inventory of their grave goods, even of a painting from the Early Hellenistic period—
though none has been discovered fully intact. In probably in Tarentum—by Eutyclides, a pupil
some instances the wall paintings were not proof Lysippus, showing a Nike on a quadriga and
duced in a single effort, but rather at different a Triton seen from the front. Porcia’s emotional
times. The most recent studies have shown, more- encounter with a painting of Hector and
over, that discrepancies in style and quality have Andromache, as told by Plutarch (Brut. 23), was
less to do with chronology than with individual previously mentioned. Cicero’s reports on the
tastes, family tradition, workshop conditions, and despoliation of art under Verres (Verr. 2.2.34;
the preferences of patrons. We must therefore 2.4.1; 2.4.55) imply that there were a large number
assume that at any given time paintings were of paintings and panel paintings in Sicily, and it
being executed both in a more innovative, three- is evident that immense stores of art, including
dimensional style and in a more conservative, numerous paintings, fell into Roman hands after
draftsmanly, virtually monochrome style that the conquest of Tarentum in 272 (Livy 27.16.7;
emphasized outlines. In some cases we can see Plutarch Fab. 22; Florus 1.13.27). Of particular
both trends within a single tomb, for example, the interest regarding painting in Rome in the Early
Tomb of the Typhon. Even today a number of Hellenistic period is Pliny’s report that Fabius
scholars, like M. Torelli, would prefer not to com- Pictor decorated Rome’s Temple of Salus in
mit to a final dating of the last of the Etruscan 304/303 with a painting based on the Second
tomb paintings from the second half of the third Samnite War. The painter and poet Marcus
and first half of the second century. Pacuvius, from Brundisium, was also active in
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Typhon: entry wall and

right wall with continuous top wave and rosette
frieze, end of the third century ..

Rome, painting in the Temple of Hercules there of a wall or the ceiling directly above a burial
on the Forum Boarium. He died in the early years (as in the Querciola Tomb II). After the Early
of the second century in Tarentum. Hellenistic phase, in which large-scale composi-
In addition to those of Tarquinia, tions were still being produced, small-figure
Hellenistic-era tomb paintings are also known in and/or ornamental friezes predominate. Painted
Cerveteri, Vulci, Chiusi, Populonia, and Tuscania. plaster reliefs and relief friezes like those in the
In Latium there are examples in Rome, Ardea, Tarquinian Tomb of Orcus II, Tomb of the
and Tivoli. Mercareccia, and Tomb of the Sculptures (delle
House-shaped chamber tombs with low Sculture) as well as in the Tomb of the Triclinium
hipped roofs and columena, but no benches, and the Caeretan Tomb of the Reliefs (dei Relievi)
were still common in the Early Hellenistic period. are found only in the Early Hellenistic period.
An example is the Giglioli Tomb. In the third cen- Large aristocratic families like the Pinie,
tury this type increasingly gave way to one less Curuna, Vestarcnie, and Pumpu owned spacious
influenced by domestic architecture, with a flat chamber tombs that were often completely
ceiling, a continuous bench around the walls, in covered with paintings. Smaller, only partially
some cases stepped and with recessed sarcophagi. painted chamber tombs are associated with so-
Examples of this type are the Tomb of the Anina called homines novi (nouveaux riches) like the
Family, Tomb of the Garlands (dei Festoni), and Anina, Ane, Arnthuna, and Tiu.
Tomb of the Typhon. The last Etruscan tomb In this period tomb paintings, regardless of
paintings adorn not only walls, but in some cases style and quality, are nearly always supplemented
ceilings, pilasters, benches, and sarcophagi as well. with numerous genealogical inscriptions. Many of
In many respects their arrangement is freer, less the most common subjects were already seen the
structured than in tombs from earlier periods; Late Classical phase, including partings, journeys
occasionally it is limited to only a specific section to and arrivals in the underworld, demons, magis-

trates’ processions, weapon and animal friezes, serpents. Serpents appear either singly or as
garlands and vines, cymatia, rosettes, and draped heraldic motifs, as in the gable of the Orvietan
fabrics. These are by and large expressions of the Golini Tomb II. They also serve to characterize
cultural and artistic “koine” that will be discussed underworld landscapes and as attributes for
separately in the last chapter. demons of death. Vines and garlands are espe-
Of particular interest are animal friezes cially favored in Early and High Hellenistic tomb
showing pairs of beasts in combat. These are painting in Etruria. Friezes of green garlands
mainly limited to tomb paintings from the Early with red ribbons first appear in the Tomb of the
Hellenistic period, though there had been prece- Garlands in Tarquinia, there still in combination
dents, albeit typologically and stylistically distinct with large round shields, reminiscent of the older
ones, in the sixth and fifth centuries. In Vulci’s weapon friezes. Smaller-format vines or garlands
François Tomb and Tarquinia’s Tomb of the also adorn sarcophagi, as in the Tomb of the
Mercareccia (here in the form of reliefs) they Anina Family, and pilaster capitals, as in the
appear above a large pictorial frieze, whereas Tomb of the Cardinal. In the ceiling paintings of
in the Caeretan Tomb of the Sarcophagi (dei the Tomb of the Garlands, the vines are combined
Sarcofagi) and Tomb of the Triclinium they deco- with small cupids and sea creatures, and thus
rate the continuous benches. Animal friezes were become “peopled scrolls.” Vines and garlands are
widely used in other Etruscan art genres as well, common features in other art genres in Etruria
generally as substitutes for botanical friezes, and and many other cultural regions, and thus repre-
particularly interesting parallels are found in sent a definite cultural and artistic “koine” that
Apulian vase painting. Among the creatures will be discussed in the last chapter. Apulia and
found in late Etruscan tomb painting are hip- Tarentum were doubtless instrumental in the
pocampi, already commonly seen in the gables of transmission of such motifs to Etruria. Ribbons
Late Archaic tombs in Tarquinia, and chthonic and wreaths “hanging” from nails, familiar
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Garlands: section of the

continuous garland frieze with ribbons (taenias)
and shields, ca. 270 ..

Tarquinia, Tomb 5512: right portion of the entry
wall with a group of togati and a winged demon,
also a section of the ceiling with a textile pattern,
second half of the third century ..
features of numerous sixth- and fifth-century head, and/or a kind of toga praetexta, is accompa-
tombs, are only rarely seen in late Etruscan tomb nied by togati with wind instruments—most often
painting. Fabric drapes “hanging” from nails were cornicines and liticines—and such symbols of
a prominent feature of Tarquinia’s Tomb of the office as lictors with the fasces, the caduceus, and
Tapestry (della Tappezzeria), which has not sur- a folding chair, or sella curulis. Friezes of this type,
vived (there in combination with a frieze of grape their sepulchral character apparent from the occa-
leaves). They also adorned a sarcophagus in the sional inclusion of demons of death, were already
Tomb of the Anina Family, and perhaps the back seen in the fourth century on the entry wall of
wall of the lower chamber in the Tomb of the the Tomb of the Shields in Tarquinia and in the
Mercareccia. Tomb painting in Tarentum and Orvietan Golini Tomb II and Tomb of the
Apulia (Monte Sannace) provides excellent par- Hescanas, also in several sarcophagus reliefs from
allels for such painted wall hangings. Ceiling Caere and Vulci. In the third century the best
coffering was occasionally suggested by simple examples of such processions, either in a single
color stripes, as in the Tomb of the Typhon, but line or two rows, one above the other, are found in
often it was rendered in greater detail and orna- the Bruschi Tomb, the Tombs of the Meeting and
mented with cymatia or small-figure friezes, as the Typhon, and Tomb 5512. In the Bruschi Tomb,
in the Tomb of the Garlands already mentioned. two trains of togati approach each other as the
Tarquinia’s Tomb 5512 has a most unusual, deceased is received by his ancestors. The proces-
baldachin-like ceiling painting with a crenellated sion on the right wall of the Tomb of the Typhon,
design, a ridge frieze, and palmettes. In the with togatus figures tightly packed, one behind
Caeretan Tombs of the Reliefs and of the and on top of the other, even includes two por-
Inscriptions, the architecture is emphasized by trayals of Laris Pumpu, along with worthies bear-
painting on the pilaster strips separating the ing insignia, musicians, and demons; once he is
wall loculi that imitates columnar fluting. In the identified in an inscription as a “cechase,” the sec-
loculi of these two aristocratic tombs are klines ond time as “zilath,” or high official. Larger in for-
in painting or relief with graceful sawed legs. mat and even more impressive is the procession
Processions of officials or magistrates on the left and back walls of the Tomb of the
celebrating the public stature of the deceased Meeting, which is unfortunately no longer acces-
are among the more prominent subjects in third- sible. The white-haired, elderly deceased is clearly
century tomb painting. The magistrate, usually emphasized on the back wall, with three lictors
identified by his larger size, the wreath on his striding in front of him and a viator (official mes-

senger) following behind with his sacculus (bag). inscriptions. As a result, unfortunately, it is
We see images of magisterial power symbols like impossible to identify the gens to which the
the sella curulis in the Giglioli Tomb in Tarquinia inhabitants of a given tomb belong, to reconstruct
and the Caeretan Tomb of the Reliefs. Roman genealogies, or to determine their station. The
writers like Silius Italicus confirm that these men wear richly ornamented toga-like garments,
attributes and symbols, which the Romans cinturones, calcei similar to those of Roman sena-
adopted, came from Etruria, indicating that they tors, and seal rings. The striking profile head of
originated in Vetulonia and Tarquinia. Appian the “magistrate” in the Spinazzo Tomb I “del
(Lib. 8.66) points out the Etruscan influences in Magistrato,” with a bulbous nose and altogether
the makeup and arrangement of Roman tri- more realistic features than those of roughly con-
umphal processions. To judge from the monu- temporary Etruscan magistrate figures, recalls the
ments, the wholly un-Greek iconography of such ancient Roman aristocracy’s preference for the ius
processions of magistrates or officials, which has imaginum. This typical iconography, unlike that
mainly been studied by M. Cristofani, was devel- of Etruria in several respects, was the expression
oped in the fourth century in Etruria, possibly in of a new ruling class from the period immediately
Tarquinia, then became widely used in the third preceding the colonization and Romanization
and second centuries, when we find it in a num- of Paestum. Its images constitute a virtual
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Meeting: section of the back
ber of reliefs on southern Etruscan sarcophagi “pantheon famigliare” or “family portrait album”
wall with profile head of a togatus, first half of the
and northern Etruscan urns. Increasingly, such (A. Pontrandolfo) emphasizing aristocratic values
third century ..
processions are accompanied by demons of death, and the hierarchy within the gens. A signed pinax
and the deceased is often shown in a biga or even (“Artos pinave”) from the forechamber of the
a quadriga. Processions appear later in Roman Early Hellenistic Tomb of the Medusa in Arpi,
tomb reliefs of a propagandistic nature like the which betrays strong Macedonian influences,
Ara Pacis. Among the third-century examples are depicts—in addition to an eques—a togatus, or
the relief frieze, originally painted, on the back magistrate, possibly the tomb’s founder or an
wall of one of the temple tombs at Norchia and ancestor.
the fragments of small-figure painting on several The only architectural elements included
sarcophagi in Tarquinia’s Giglioli Tomb. We also in Etruscan tomb painting from the Hellenistic
find certain iconographic and ideological parallels period are round-arch gates, some of them highly
in southern Italian tomb painting from the Early detailed—adorned, for example, with lions’
Hellenistic period, in Paestum especially, but also heads—as in Tarquinia’s Tombs of the Cardinal,
in Capua in northern Campania (the Tomb of the Querciola II, and 5636. They are clearly meant
Magistrate [del Magistrato]) and in northern to symbolize passageways or entrances into the
Apulian, Daunian Arpi. In place of the earlier afterlife, but they are also reflections of actual city
ideal of the warrior and horseman, we now find gates in the Hellenistic period, such as those of
the paterfamilias and worthy magistrate. A series Volterra, Perugia, and Falerii Novi. The same type
of painted chamber tombs in Paestum’s Spinazzo of gate also appears in a number of Etruscan sar-
necropolis, with true megalographs of remarkable cophagus and urn reliefs from the third and sec-
quality, is especially informative in this regard. On ond centuries.
the back wall in each tomb, an ancestor welcomes Etruscan painting from the Hellenistic
the deceased, or the tomb owner, with a hand- period presents various contemporary techniques
clasp—the dextrarum iunctio or fides gestus— and styles. Definite three-dimensional effects were
including women characterized as matronae, created, for example, in the continuous weapon
while on the side walls processions of dignitaries frieze in the Giglioli Tomb, which dates from
and figures bearing gifts approach the main scene shortly before or around 300. The weapons
with horses and mules and even such status sym- “hang” from painted nails, all of them angled
bols as small Maltese dogs. The main figures— toward the center of the wall and illuminated by
often rendered in three-quarter view—are clearly light from specific angles. Other achievements of
distinguished by gender, age, and rank, and all large-format Greek painting such as pittura a
have individualized features and expressions and macchia, a technique of painting with colored
give the appearance of portraits, but unlike those flecks that is almost impressionistic, and the addi-
of Etruria the subjects are never named in tion of white highlights (“splendor” and “lumen,”

Tarquinia, Tomb 5636, pilaster in front of the back
wall: winged death demon Charun with hammer,
according to Pliny Nat. Hist. 35.29) first appeared and in many respects prefigures later Roman
in certain kinds of vase painting, such as the painting from around the turn of the millen-
Gnathia pottery from Apulia and central Italian nium. In the very last Tarquinian tombs, which
poculum type, before they came to be adopted in were once dated to the second century, we can
Etruscan wall painting in the first half of the distinguish two fundamentally different but
third century. We see them, for example, in the contemporary styles. One works mainly with
Tarquinian Tomb of the Garlands, whose long chromatic effects and aims for a pronounced
rectangular ceiling coffers (lacunaria) are orna- three-dimensionality. It is most impressively
mented with pinkish cupids, sea creatures, and employed in the Typhon figures on the center
vine motifs against a dark-blue ground. This pilaster of the Tomb of the Typhon, and to a
almost Tachist color-fleck technique, with its lesser degree in the heads of the togati in this
pinkish macchie and applied white highlights, same tomb and in the Tomb of the Meeting. In
probably found its way to Etruria by way of the group of togati stacked vertically in the Tomb
Tarentum; it is also seen in the battle frieze on of the Typhon there is a hint of illusionistic spa-
the pilaster capital in the roughly contemporary tial perspective, and accordingly a new sense of
Tomb of the Cardinal. Highlights were used in space similar to that found in a number of later
several other high-quality Tarquinian tomb paint- Roman reliefs. The other is more draftsmanly,
ings from the third century, for example on the emphasizes outlines and internal drawing, and
demon figures in the Tomb of the Charuns and largely does without pronounced coloring, so
the Tomb of the Anina Family. Another stylistic that in some cases it is virtually monochrome.
trend, which some scholars equate with so-called This is the style used for the “vegetal” goddess
pictura compendiaria, is represented by the on the back of the pilaster in the Tomb of the
unique, small-figure frieze, roughly forty- Typhon, the very crude Charun figure on the
five meters long, now sadly for the most part pilaster in Tomb 5636, and the small-figured
destroyed, in the Tomb of the Cardinal. It seems scenes of the “journey into the underworld” in
compact and illusionistic with its rich shading, Tombs 4912 and 5636.

The Tomb of the Mercareccia, right next of the chambers and friezes were published
to the Fondo Scataglini, may already have been by Byres.
known in the Renaissance, and it is deserving of The Tomb of the Tapestry, from the end of
particular attention because of its architecture. It the fourth century or beginning of the third, was
consists of two chambers. The upper one, mainly discovered in the eighteenth century and has
reserved for the cult of the dead, has a ceiling in since been lost. We only have the early engravings
the atrium displuviatum form (roof sloping out- published by Byres and housed in the Martin von
ward rather than inward), benches, and a niche in Wagner-Museum in Würzburg. The tomb was
the back wall. The type of the atrium displuviatum laid out on two different levels. A false door in
is also reflected in a Chiusan urn (now in Berlin). the back wall was flanked by a pair of demons
The lower chamber, with a continuous bench, has with serpents (probably Charun and Vanth). The
a hipped roof with a relief-ornamented columen walls of the upper chamber were painted with
and perpendicular beams. Unfortunately, virtually draperies suspended from nails, possibly in imi-
nothing has survived of the friezes in relief and tation of baldachins and tentlike pavilions used
the painting. The upper chamber had two relief for funeral ceremonies. The closest parallels for
friezes, a smaller one with fighting animals and a such draperies are in a Hellenistic-era tomb in
larger one beneath it presenting a procession of Tarentum.
people and demons, perhaps the arrival in the The Giglioli Tomb, generally dated to the
underworld. On the back wall of the lower cham- end of the fourth century or around 300, is
ber, there was another procession with eight one of the most important examples of Early
figures bearing insignia, one of them crowned Hellenistic tomb painting in Tarquinia. It is a
with a wreath—perhaps the deceased—and spacious chamber tomb with a low hipped roof,
demons, some of which are identified in inscrip- columen, beams carved in relief, and seven sar-
tions. Gori published a map of the tomb in his cophagi of the wooden chest type. The monu-
Museum Etruscum, and Smuglewicz’s engravings mental frieze of weapons “hanging” from painted
Tarquinia, Giglioli Tomb, back wall: main

sarcophagus and weapon frieze, around 300 ..
or shortly before.

Cerveteri, Tomb of the Reliefs; main loculus in the
back wall with kline and painted stucco reliefs, end
nails and rendered three-dimensionally with from Tarquinian bronze coinage from the second
intense chiaroscuro effects transforms the tomb half of the fourth century (aes grave and aes
chamber into an armory filled with round signatum), which may have been introduced by a
shields, helmets of the Phrygian type, pectorals, member of the gens Pinie. They thus symbolize
swords with their sheaths, greaves, paludamenta, the city itself and underscore the military virtues
and wind instruments, all to the glory of the gens and the political importance of the Pinie, who
Pinie. It has precedents and parallels in tomb so emphatically identify themselves with their
painting in southern Italy (Paestum, Egnazia, hometown. At the same time, they clearly allude
Tarentum), Macedonia (Vergina, Lefkadia, to the historical background, namely military
Aghios Athanassios), and Thrace (Magliz), also conflicts between Tarquinia and Rome, especially
in Cerveteri in the famous Tomb of the Reliefs in the years between 311 and 308. Some of the sar-
and on the back wall of one of the rock temple cophagi still have traces of painting from several
tombs at Norchia. The custom of hanging generations down to the third quarter of the
weapons in tombs was already practiced in the third century, showing Ionian cymatia, rosettes,
Orientalizing and Archaic periods; actual bronze demons (Charun and Vanth), a magistrate’s pro-
shields were found in tombs in Veii and Narce, cession with togati, a biga with a magistrate, and
and painted ones appear in Cerveteri’s Tomb of inscriptions.
the Shields and Seats (degli Scudi e delle Sedie). The Bruschi Tomb, ascribed to the gens
Vel Pinies, magistrate, paterfamilias, and owner Ap[u]na on the basis of inscriptions, is now gen-
of the Giglioli Tomb, was buried in front of the erally dated to Early Hellenistic times, that is, to
back wall in the main sarcophagus with a lid around 300 or the first decades of the third cen-
figure. Symbols of authority like a sella curulis tury. It was formerly thought to be later. Its paint-
(or, according to M. Torelli, a capsa or chest con- ings, long since detached, were recently restored
taining tabulae of his res gestae), a flagella, a toga and newly presented in an exhibition in Viterbo
praetexta, and litui and other horns underscore in 2004. The paintings present processions of
his high rank. The shields have episemata pairs of togati together with a few demons; two of
(signs or badges) like protomae of wild boars, the men identified as officials and a female figure
amphorae, and the letter “A,” and are taken over are emphasized by their larger size. The founder

of the tomb is depicted as a magistrate; he is ring to three different figures. Dominating the
arriving in the afterlife with his train of musicians back wall is an older, white-haired man, doubtless
and lictors and is welcomed there by ancestors the tomb’s founder, who is identified as “Larth
identified by inscriptions. Especially striking are a Arnthal amce zilath cechaneri,” that is to say a
youth on horseback and a woman with a pome- high-ranking official. He is accompanied by two
granate. The main figures and groups are fully lictors with double axes and lances and a servant
colored, whereas the togati are rendered mainly with his mantica. Two men crowned with wreaths
in drawing. The base frieze of waves and leaping are especially prominent on the left wall. In addi-
dolphins is reminiscent of the Grotta Dipinta at tion, there are three togati with fasces and three
Bomarzo and the sarcophagus from Cipollara apparitores. The name “Velthur” appears in two
(ca. 280). different inscriptions. The attendant figures in
The Tomb of the Meeting, which was for- the processions—which do not include demons—
merly often dated to the Late Hellenistic period or carry attributes or insignia such as double
as late as around 100, can now, thanks to thor- axes, lances, and rods or virgae alluding to the Above: Tarquinia, Bruschi Tomb: section of the
ough recent studies by G. Colonna, A. Maggiani, imperium militiae, and thus doubtless to the right wall with procession of togati (nineteenth-
century watercolor by G. Mariani), beginning of
and A. Naso, be placed in the first half of the third historical background, namely the final military
the third century ..
century. Its architecture, with columen, beams skirmishes between Tarquinia and Rome in the
carved in relief, and the absence of benches, tends first decades of the third century. Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Meeting, left wall:
to confirm this. The tomb’s inscriptions are pre- The Tomb of the Garlands was discovered procession of togati, some of them identified in
served only in fragments, so that it is impossible in 1919 near the Villa Tarantola. Its particular sig- inscriptions, first half of the third century ..
to identify the gens of its owners, and unfortu- nificance for the history of Etruscan painting and
nately it cannot be visited. Its paintings depict painting in general in the Hellenistic period was
three separate processions of white togati refer- already recognized by Ranuccio Bianchi

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Garlands, back wall: Bandinelli. Its large tomb chamber has a flat ceil- chamber tomb in Monte Sannace, in Peucetian
garland frieze with ribbons and shields, painted ing and a continuous stepped bench (for burials Apulia, and on Pocala ware, a contemporary vase-
ceiling with lacunaria, ca. 270 ..
both in recessed fossae and in freestanding sar- painting genre from central Italy. The founder and
cophagi). The painting techniques employed on patron of this highly original tomb was probably a
the walls and on the ceiling are very different. member of the influential Curuna family. In its
The garland ornaments—still in combination architecture and the styles and techniques used in
with shields and above colorfully framed ashlar its paintings, the Tomb of the Garlands stands
panels—are more distinctly indebted to the earlier somewhere between the Giglioli Tomb and the
chiaroscuro technique seen in the Giglioli Tomb; Tomb of the Typhon.
their closest precedents are found in Apulia and The Tomb of the Anina Family lies in the
Tarentum. The two demons flanking the entrance, center of the Fondo Scataglini, an abandoned
Charuns with hammers and serpents, are of higher quarry with 175 tombs hollowed out of the rock.
quality. But it is the ceiling paintings in this tomb Their inscriptions and paintings were recently
from around 270 that are deserving of particular published. The “square” in front of the main tomb
attention. They present small putti, sea creatures and the “street” leading up to it had no sepulchral
(kete), and vines placed against the dark blue of significance; they were features of the original
the long rectangular, cymatia-framed coffers in a quarry. The main tomb has been dated to some-
highly impressionistic, almost Tachist technique where between the close of the fourth century and
a macchia. This technique, adopted from Greek the mid-third century. In any case, this spacious
painting of the later fourth century, is also found tomb with a three-tier continuous bench with
in the battle friezes—also with blue grounds—on both recessed and freestanding sarcophagi (in
the capitals of the Tomb of the Cardinal, in a blue- limestone, nenfro, and terracotta) and a flat ceil-
ground frieze with bucrania and paterae in a half- ing was created by Larth Anina and used for at

Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Anina Family:
sarcophagi and back wall with garland friezes and
genealogical inscriptions, third century ..
Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Cardinal: section of

a pilaster capital with dark-ground battle frieze and
light-ground vine frieze, first half of the third
century ..
least three generations. We know this from the from tombs in Cerveteri, Vulci, Chiusi, and
paintings and inscriptions executed on the walls Perugia.
and sarcophagi at different times and distinct The Tomb of the Cardinal, which was
from each other. According to one inscription, thoroughly republished by A. Morandi in a 1983
Larth Anina had six graves—probably sar- monograph, was first discovered in 1699, then
cophagi—constructed for himself and his family. repeatedly reopened in the eighteenth century
The paintings include a few small-figure images (in 1780 by the eponymous Cardinal Garampi,
like demons and a procession with a magistrate among others). It was documented in engravings
on a biga between three lictors and a togatus, but by the Polish artist Smuglewicz that were pub-
mainly consist of botanical and ornamental deco- lished by Byres. For a long time these engravings
rations like vines, garlands with ribbons, rosettes, influenced our reading of the wall paintings,
Doric and Ionian cymatia, dogtooth and crenel- especially the long, small-figured frieze—in
lated friezes, and painted draperies. The white many respects leading us astray. The Tomb of
vine frieze on a red ground on one sarcophagus the Cardinal is the largest of all Tarquinia’s tombs.
recalls Apulian Gnathia pottery. The entrance to It is roughly square (roughly 260 sq m in area),
the tomb is flanked by large-format demons iden- with a continuous bench and a flat ceiling partly
tified by inscriptions as Charun and Vanth, iani- adorned with coffers, some of them painted with
tores with the typical attributes of a hammer and Doric cymatia. In a second phase the tomb was
a torch, in an almost expressionist style in which obviously enlarged and enriched with two addi-
the dark outlines are emphasized. These date from tional pilasters, ceiling coffers, and the small
the tomb’s creation, and because the entrance was painted frieze. It was owned by the gens Vestarcnie,
apparently widened at a later date they are not which was closely related to the Spurina. The
complete. The tomb contained a terracotta sar- paintings date from different stages in the third
cophagus for a woman and five cippi with inscrip- century. The earliest are those on a pilaster capital
tions and nine without, one of them in the form with a three-dimensional scale design, a battle
of a woman’s head. The gens Anina, which was frieze in the a macchia technique on a dark-blue
not one of Tarquinia’s old, established noble fami- ground like the ceiling paintings in the Tomb of
lies but rather among the homines novi—only one the Garlands, and a light-ground vine frieze. The
member of the third generation, by the name of small figural frieze with an ocher ground in the
Larth, held the office of zilath—is also known right-hand section of the tomb was painted later.
from inscriptions in the Tomb of the Shields and With its roughly two hundred figures, it is some

forty-five meters long, and thus the longest figural of tomb is relatively common, especially in the
frieze in all of Etruscan tomb painting. It consti- Fondo Scataglini, and is also seen in the even ear-
tutes a sort of book of the dead in Etruscan escha- lier Tomb of the Tapestry. The two large false
tology and includes the largest repertory of doors in relief and painting in the upper chamber,
demons of death in the most varied guises: reclin- each of them flanked by winged Charun figures
ing, attending the deceased, making menacing ges- identified by inscriptions, appear above the
tures, drawing chariots, and even participating in entrances to the tomb chambers, and represent
such violent scenes as the “rape of the soul” and the later variant of the Doric style door, with
“torture.” Here there is obviously a distinction architraves curved at the end in the form of owls’
between “good” and “evil” demons. Various stages beaks, like those known mainly from South
in the journey to the underworld and the arrival Etruscan rock-tomb facades from the Hellenistic
there (complete with the walls and gates of Hades) period. The strong coloring of the Charun figures,
are shown. Earlier scholars tended to see evidence with their hammer, ax, and serpent attributes, is
of Orphic and Pythagorian thinking in these enlivened by chiaroscuro effects and highlights.
scenes. The style of the frieze varies; in places it is Sadly, the original function of these demons,
more draftsmanly, in other places it is executed in which are precisely identified in inscriptions,
a more impressionistic stile compendiario of the is obscure.
kind that was widely used in Hellenistic Roman The Tomb of the Typhon, discovered in 1832
painting. and published in a monograph by M. Cristofani,
The Tomb of the Charuns, which probably is one of the largest tombs from the Hellenistic
dates from the second quarter of the third cen- period. Its dating was long disputed, and for a
tury, is of the tomba con vestibulo type on two lev- time it was dated to the second century (by
els. Its upper room with benches is certain to have Cristofani, for example). When it was discovered,
been reserved mainly for the cult of the dead, the the tomb still contained numerous sarcophagi
two lower chambers created for burials. This type with figural lids. These are of various dates, from
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Charuns: relief and painted

false door in the form of the Dorc portal (porta
dorica), flanked by two death demons identified in
inscriptions (Charun), second quarter of the third
century ..

the third quarter of the third century to the first and Perugia. The paintings are eclectic, both in
half of the second century, thus from at least subject matter and to some extent in style. The
three generations (G. Colonna). Today, based on wave frieze with leaping dolphins that runs
these sarcophagus types, an earlier dating to the around the upper part of the walls is well repre-
third quarter of the third century is preferred sented in Tarquinian tomb painting since the Late
(G. Colonna), and F. Gilotta even dates it to Archaic era. Below it is a red-ground frieze of
before the middle of the third century. In any rosettes and another of a dogtooth design. The
case, the Tomb of the Typhon—burial place of iconography of the magistrate’s procession on the
the aristocratic Pumpu family—is one of the right wall, with togati, insignia of office, musi-
last examples of a painted tomb in Tarquinia. cians, demons, and inscriptions, clearly originated
Architecturally it features a stepped continuous in Etruria, probably Tarquinia, and goes back to
bench, a flat ceiling with coffering suggested by the fourth century. The only truly innovative fea-
wide intersecting stripes, and a central pilaster tures are the two eponymous, large-scale Typhons
with an “altar” in front of it that was originally with wings and serpents’ feet on the pilaster,
decorated with paintings (a procession). This which are slightly different from each other and
“altar” was in fact a pedestal that may have sup- function as telamones—a novelty in Etruscan art.
ported the sarcophagus or a reclining figure of They are rendered with extreme torsion and dra-
the ancestor Arnth Pumpu, as he is named in the matic expressions in highly three-dimensional
large commemorative inscription on the front of painting with chiaroscuro and highlights. At first
the pilaster above. The inscriptions assure us that glance they recall the High Hellenistic art of
the tomb was used for further burials down into Pergamon in Asia Minor, specifically the high-
the first century B.C. and even into the period of relief Gigantomachy on the famous Pergamon
the Roman Empire. The gens Pumpu was related Altar. The Typhon motif goes back to the second
to the Sentina and Clevsina and is also docu- half of the sixth century in Etruria, where it is
mented in inscriptions in Vulci, Chiusi, Cortona, seen on antefixae, bronze ornaments, Felsina
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Garlands: section of

the ceiling paintings in a macchia technique,
ca. 270 ..

steles, mirrors, Chiusan and Perugian urns, and the two neighboring Typhons. He sees her image
in vase painting. In some respects its iconography in the Caryatid Tomb at Sveshtari as a symbolic
is the same as that of the Etruscan Triton. We allusion to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, as a
also see Typhons employed as telamones on two mediator between this world and the next—much
terracottas from Volsinii and two Volterran urns. like Etruscan demons. The female heads that
Serpent-footed creatures of a chthonic nature are appear so often in vine decor in Apulian vase
also seen in the Caeretan Tomb of the Reliefs painting may belong within this same context.
(beneath the main loculus) and Tarquinia’s Tomb The procession in the center of the right wall,
of the Sculptures (relief figure of a Scylla on the with such apparitores as lictors and horn players
back wall). The tendency toward a more emo- (cornicines), and replete with attributes like the
tional, dynamic style evident in the Typhon fasces, double axes, and the lituus, includes
figures on the center pilaster is familiar, as already demons. Inscriptions give the name “Laris
mentioned, from High Hellenistic art in Asia Pumpu” to two magistrates, possibly brothers
Minor, specifically Pergamon (even the sculptures who were cofounders of the tomb, or perhaps one
of the great Attalid monument), but it definitely and the same man holding different offices. The
had precedents in the third century. One thinks, painting stands in the tradition of earlier magis-
for example, of Early Hellenistic Tarentine tomb trates’ processions like those in the Orvietan
sculpture and naiskoi reliefs, various Early Golini Tomb II and Tomb of the Hescanas and the
Hellenistic pebble mosaics in Macedonia (the Tarquinian Tomb of the Shields, Bruschi Tomb,
deer-hunting scene by Gnosis, for example), and and Tomb of the Meeting, but with its densely
architectural terracottas like the Apollo from the stacked figures on different base lines it antici-
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Typhon, back side of the temple at Lo Scasato in Falerii Veteres. The vine- pates the composition of later Roman narrative
center pilaster: detail of the winged vine-woman, woman or goddess depicted on the back of the reliefs. The long dedicatory, religious inscription
end of the third century .. pilaster is of a totally different character, rendered on the center pillar also names the gens Pumpu.
in a wholly two-dimensional, more draftsmanly, The cornice on the pilaster capital, with grotesque
and seemingly Archaic style. The motif of such lions’ heads positioned like antefixes, is unique in
figures with vines for limbs, probably represent- Etruscan painting.
ing vegetation goddesses, goes back to the end of In addition to the large aristocrats’ tombs
the fifth century and is especially common in with more extensive and ambitious painting
the fourth century. It is well documented in the cycles, there is a series of generally smaller and
Mediterranean and Black Sea regions; we find it less important chamber tombs in Tarquinia, a
on a red-figure kylix from Vulci (there in a male number of them only partially painted, that were
version functioning as a telamon); on Apulian once thought to date from as late as the second
vessels and Alexandrian Hadra vases; on Greek century but are now generally assigned to the sec-
wooden sarcophagi; in the Lion’s Tomb at Myra, ond half of the third century. In the Tomb of the
in Lycia; in the famous Early Hellenistic Caryatid Alsina Family (degli Alsina) there are fragments
Tomb in Sveshtari, in Thrace; in Thracian and of a figural frieze with members of the Alsina
Scythian goldwork and toreutics; in Hellenistic and Pumpu families identified by inscriptions.
architectural ornament in Asia Minor; on marble Inscriptions on the sarcophagi indicate that three
thrones; and in Roman wall painting in the generations were buried here. The paintings in
Second Pompeian style. Both M. Pallottino and the Querciola Tomb II, which no longer survives
M. Cristofani see precedents for it in Archaistic, but can be attributed to the gens Ane, are docu-
neo-Attic art as produced in the second century mented in a colored drawing by C. Ruspi. Above
mainly in Asia Minor, especially Pergamon. Of a wave frieze along the base of the walls they
course this would only make sense if one accepts a showed Arnth Anes, identified in an inscription,
later, second-century date for the tomb. The pres- arriving in the underworld attended by demons,
ence of such a motif, which first appears in the and a round-arch gate directly above the main
fourth century, by no means precludes an earlier sarcophagus. The tomb probably had a barrel
dating to the third century. According to W. Rupp, vault of the Macedonian type and was thus the
the vine-woman in the Tomb of the Typhon could only one of its kind in Tarquinia. The fragmen-
represent the Great Earth Mother, that is the tary paintings on the entry wall in Tomb 5512
Etruscan goddess Cel Ati, and thus the mother of (also known as the Double Tomb [Tomba

Doppia] or Tomb of the Anina Family II) present out burial directly below. Charun is seated on
multifigured underworld arrival and encounter a block of stone in front of the gate in his func-
scenes—including a dextrarum iunctio—with tion as ianitor. The brothers Laris and Arnth
demons (Charun and Vanth as psychopompoi) Arnthunas are identified by inscriptions; the latter
and the underworld gate, also a procession of offi- held the office of “marunuc spurana” for three
cials reminiscent of the one in the Tomb of years. A large-format Charun with wings, serpen-
the Typhon, with togati, lictors, and musicians tine hair, and a hammer, very crudely drawn in a
densely ranked above one another in frontal view. dark brown, decorates the pilaster in front of the
A long inscription on the left wall names the back wall. In the Fondo Scataglini, Tombs 4836
deceased Vela Péslinei, daughter of Lars, who (Fondo Scataglini 170) and 4912 (or of the Four
through her mother and her husband (Velthur Figurines [delle Quattro Figurine]) are also worth
Aninas) was related to the better-known gentes mentioning. Tomb 4836, from the turn from the
Ap[u]na and Anina. A section of the ceiling above fourth to the third century, has a notable winged
the togati and the sarcophagus is painted in the male demon. In Tomb 4912, from the middle to
manner of a baldachin, with a fabric or tapestry- the second half of the third century, with remains
like border of crenellated and dogtooth designs of grave goods, there is a marked contrast in style
and corner palmettes. The side to the right of the between the two vividly colored demons (Charun
door was reworked during a second phase of buri- with a hammer and Vanth with a torch) and the
als (ca. 280), and the one to the left of the door two almost monochrome draped women. The
during a third (middle to third quarter of the younger woman, accompanied by Vanth, is being
third century). The tomb still contained a quan- received in the underworld by an older woman
tity of grave goods, mostly pottery, including with Charun at her side. Figures in the Early
painted Etruscan vessels dating from the fourth Hellenistic tomb painting of Canosa, in northern
century and other objects from the third and sec- Apulia, closely resemble these veiled women. A
ond centuries. In Tomb 5636 (second half of the wall section with the two right-hand figures was
third century) only the right wall and the pilaster unfortunately stolen. Tomb 5580 dates from the
are painted. The arrival scene with four figures, early third century and was enlarged shortly
demons (Vanth with a torch and Charun), and an afterward, at which time it was adorned with a
arch-shaped underworld gate with lion’s-head painted “tapestry” above the sarcophagus of
fittings on the right wall refers to the hollowed- Thanchvil Anei. Tomb 5203, in the Terreno Maggi,
Tarquinia, Querciola Tomb II, right side of the back

wall, left portion of the right wall, and ground plan:
underworld gate and arrival in the underworld
with two death demons (Charun) armed with
hammers (nineteenth-century drawing by Carlo
Ruspi), second half of the third century ..

Tarquinia, Tomb 5636, right wall: section with
underworld gate and arrival in the underworld,
is distinguished by a very long inscription, a Cimbali, Uomo su Elefante), with unclear depic-
Doric cyma just below the ceiling, and a figural tions of processions, featuring the goddess Cybele
scene on the right wall in which a woman is being in her lion chariot and a long line of corybantes,
menaced by a bird-headed demon, possibly documented in an early Forlivesi drawing from
Tuchulcha. the eighteenth century. In another tomb there was
A series of Tarquinian tombs from the apparently a depiction of the goddess Ceres in a
Hellenistic period, most of them discovered in the chariot drawn by serpents. The so-called Tomb
nineteenth century, no longer survives, so that we with Ship (Tomba con Nave) presented sea gods
are obliged to make do with early descriptions, on a ship, or more likely a symbolic journey of the
engravings, and drawings, which are not always deceased across the sea into the afterlife. There are
very reliable. Among these were the Tartaglia also a number of chamber tombs in Tarquinia
Tomb (discovered in 1699, from the third quarter that contain inscriptions, sarcophagi, and grave
of the third century, with paintings apparently goods, but virtually no wall paintings. These
similar to those in the Tomb of the Cardinal, apparently belonged to members of a kind of
divided architecturally by telamones); the Tomb middle class.
of the Eizenes Family (degli Eizenes, discovered in A series of Early Hellenistic aristocratic
1874, from the end of the third century); the Tomb tombs with paintings is found in the Banditaccia
of the Head of Charun (delle Teste di Charun, dis- necropolis at Cerveteri, most notably the
covered in 1833, from the third century); the Tomb Tombs of the Reliefs, the Sea Waves (delle Onde
of the Dancing Priests (dei Sacerdoti Danzanti, marine), the Triclinium, the Sarcophagi, and the
paintings with naked dancers and birds between Inscriptions. The most interesting one is unques-
small trees; Gori published an early drawing of tionably the Tomb of the Reliefs, which was thor-
them by G. N. Forlivesi in his Museum Etruscum, oughly republished in 1985 by H. Blanck. It was
but mistakenly identified it as having been made surely situated deliberately next to the large
in the second chamber of the Tomb of the Tumulus I from the Orientalizing period, and its
Mercareccia); and the Tomb with the Procession inscriptions link it to the gens Matuna. The site of
of Cybele (con Processione di Cibele) and the several dozen burials, its walls and pilasters are
Tomb with Woman with Diadem and Cymbals, covered with a wealth of colored stucco reliefs on
and Man Riding Elephant (con Diadema, military, domestic, and underworld subjects that

set this splendid hypogeum apart from all other represented on the two pilasters—pieces of
Etruscan tombs. The resting place of the pater- furniture, tools, kitchen utensils, vessels, imple-
and materfamilias in the center back-wall loculus ments, even animals—provide interesting insights
is emphasized with a kline and a footrest. To the into everyday Etruscan life. The Tomb of the
left of this is the depiction of a chest with a lock, Triclinium was painted with animal friezes and
probably containing the tablets with the ancestral banquet scenes with couples reclining in front of
res gestae. On top of it lies a liber linteus (linen round tables, servants, and a kylikeion. The paint-
book), which was probably meant to suggest the ings no longer survive and are known only from
high cultivation of the illustrious deceased in a old drawings by Canina. In their motifs they most
general sense and more specifically his priestly closely resemble those of the Tomb of the Shields
roles. The flanking busts next to the main loculus and the Orvietan Golini tombs. The painting in
probably represent the underworld deities Aita the Tomb of the Sea Waves is essentially limited
and Phersipnei, not the couple buried in the to a continuous wave frieze. In the Tomb of
loculus. The weapon frieze above, with shields, the Inscriptions, which belonged to the gens
helmets, greaves, swords, and phalerae (military Tarchna, members of at least eight generations
decorations), symbolizes the manly, military were buried down into the Augustan age. The
sphere and is reminiscent of the painted weapon paintings mainly highlight the tomb’s architec-
frieze in Tarquinia’s Giglioli Tomb. The objects tural features.
Left: Cerveteri, Tomb of the Triclinium, back wall:

banquet scenes with a kylikeion in the center
(nineteenth-century drawing by L. Canina), end
Below: Vulci, Campanari Tomb, section of the

back wall: bearded man enthroned with his wife
standing in front in a chiton and himation
(nineteenth-century drawing), third century ..

p. 265
Tarquinia, Giglioli Tomb: detail of the left wall with
hanging anatomical armor, around 300 .. or shortly
before.
pp. 266–67
Tarquinia, Giglioli Tomb: detail of the back wall with
hanging paludamentum (cloak), sheathed sword, and
shield with a boar’s head as episema, around 300 ..
or shortly before.
pp. 268–69
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Meeting, back wall: section of
the procession of togati and lictors with inscriptions,
first half of the third century ..
pp. 270–71
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Anina Family, entry wall:
details of the death demons Charun, with hammer,
and Vanth, with torch, flanking the entrance, first half
of the third century ..
p. 272 p. 273
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Charuns: detail of the right Tarquinia, Tomb of the Typhon, left side of the center
wall with the blue-skinned death demon Charun with pilaster: winged, serpent-footed Typhon serving as a
hammer, second quarter of the third century .. telamon, end of the third century ..
pp. 274–75
Tarquinia, Tomb 5636, right wall: section with scene of
arrival in the underworld framed by the death
demons Charun, in front of the underworld gate, and
Vanth, second half of the third century ..
p. 276
Tarquinia, Tomb of the Garlands: section of the
garland frieze with shield and ribbons “hung” from
nails, ca. 270 ..
The only tomb paintings from the such as this were especially common in Volsinii.
Hellenistic period in Vulci are those in the The script and formulation of the inscriptions
Campanari Tomb and the Tomb of the Dolphin are South Etruscan in style and suggest that the
(del Delfino). The spacious Campanari Tomb, tomb could have been built by a Volsinian who
discovered in 1833 and distinguished by a column fled after that city’s destruction in 265/264. The
with a figural capital, no longer survives and is tomb contained a kline-shaped terracotta sar-
known only from early descriptions and draw- cophagus for the burial of its founder and
ings. Its large-format paintings presented proces- appears to date from between the middle and
sional rows of men, women, and children, also a the second half of the third century.
central group of an enthroned man with his wife Among the few North Etruscan examples of
standing beside him. Some consider these the painted chamber tombs from the Early Hellenistic
tomb’s owners; others take them to be the under- period (end of the fourth to beginning of the
world deities Aita/Hades and Phersipnei/ third century) are the Tomb of the Wave Frieze
Persephone. The tomb is generally dated to the (del Corridietro or delle Onde marine) and Tomb
third century. The Tomb of the Dolphins, discov- of the Dolphins (dei Delfini) in Populonia’s
ered in the Necropoli di Ponte Rotto in 1959 and Necropoli delle Grotte, which was used between
brought to public attention by F. Buranelli, con- the second half of the fourth century and the
tains only slight traces of a painted wave frieze mid-second century and also includes a few rock
with leaping dolphins similar to that of the tombs in former quarries. Both chamber tombs
Tarquinian Tomb of the Typhon, and dates from are hollowed out of the soft local Arenaria sand-
the period of Vulci’s Romanization after 280. stone and contain plain stone benches for burials.
In Chiusi the Tassinaia Tomb is the only The simple motifs of the paintings—wave friezes,
known tomb with wall frescoes from the Hellen- dolphins, a ram’s head—and their style link them
istic period. Its distinguishing features are its to southern Etruria, especially Cerveteri (Tomb
hollowed-out structure, low benches, and of the Sea Waves and Tomb of the Sarcophagi)
“Macedonicizing” barrel vault. It has now been and Tarquinia (Fondo Scataglini). Antonella
re-created inside Chiusi’s Museo Archeologico. Romualdi’s hypothesis that the tomb owners
Its paintings present a frieze with garlands, rib- came from southern Etruria has been strength-
bons, and a round shield, birds, lunulae (sickle ened by the discovery in the immediate vicinity
moons), and discus pendants, and two members of a fragmentary inscription in the South Left: Populonia, Tomb of the Wave Frieze: wall
section with red base and black wave frieze,
of the Tiu family identified by inscriptions—a Etruscan style.
beginning of the third century ..
man and a woman, probably the wife and son An underground space discovered within
of the tomb’s founder. “Tius” is Etruscan for the ancient precinct of Cerveteri in 1983, which Right: Populonia, Tomb of the Wave Frieze:
“moon,” and the crescent-shaped lunulae are an has been researched mainly by M. Cristofani and remnants of painting on the continuous bench,
allusion to the family name. Theophoric names M. Torelli, provides a unique glimpse of Early beginning of the third century ..

Left: Viterbo, Museo Archeologico Nazionale: Hellenistic Etruscan wall painting of a nonsepul- period. In most instances these consist of poly-
mosaic from Musarna with meander design and chral nature. In the rectangular hall there is a chrome reliefs, but there are certainly examples
Etruscan inscriptions, second half of the second
square niche (roughly 1.80 m tall) with elegant with two-dimensional painting as well, mainly
century ..
palm trees painted on each of the side walls and on ornamental and botanical in nature. As yet these
Right: Populonia: section of a polychrome mosaic the back wall a small caryatid supporting a men- have received less attention. The only known
with a sea frieze and African heads from the area of sole between two palmettes. The latter are painted polychrome mosaics from the second century in
the acropolis, end of the second century .. a macchia, mainly in greenish tones. Altogether Etruria are those from Musarna (with an Etruscan
there are nine inscriptions, some them incised, inscription mentioning the gens Alethna) and
some painted. The most significant is unquestion- Populonia (two examples: a fish mosaic and a
ably the one that reads “C. Genucio(s) Clousino(s) mosaic with African heads).
praif(ectos).” Another one mentions a Rosalia cer- By the turn from the fourth to the third
emony. One of the graffiti depicts the god Sol on century vase painting had lost much of its former
his chariot. We know from the historical sources importance both in Greece and in Italy. Produc-
that the praefectura Caeritum was established in tion of red-figure vases ceased in southern Italy
273 B.C. The C. Genucius Clepsina named in the and Sicily around 300 and would persist not much
inscription was consul in 276 and 270, and a repre- longer in central Italy. In these final years we still
sentative of the new patrician-plebeian nobilitas find last representatives of Volterran kelebai and
to which Q. Ogulnius Gallus belonged. The palm Genucilia plates with star designs, to which we
can be interpreted as a symbol of the cult at made reference in the last chapter, as well as some
Delos and the Delian triad (whose cult is docu- three hundred vessels by the Spina Painter, most
mented in Cerveteri by votive terracottas from of them with Dionysian subject matter. Black-
the fourth century). In Hellenistic painting we glazed vessels with applied decoration in opaque
also find depictions of palms in Tomb V of the polychrome (red, white, yellow, gold) began to
Anfushi necropolis at Alexandria. According to appear at the same time as these last red-figure
M. Cristofani, the underground space was a cult vases, and soon they were produced exclusively.
complex, possibly a balaneion (baths); M. Torelli Their painting was mostly ornamental and botan-
chooses to see in it a political, commemorative ical, with fewer figures. The best examples are the
complex that is quite obviously related to the deci- Early Hellenistic Gnathia pottery from Apulia,
sive events around 273. some of which was exported. Black-glazed wares
Various painted sarcophagi (Tarquinia) and with stamped designs and applied reliefs were
urns (Volterra, Chiusi) also serve to expand our also produced in great quantities—especially in
knowledge of Etruscan painting in the Hellenistic Campania—and to some extent they prefigure the

Roman terra sigillata. The most prolific producer effects compare favorably with paintings London, British Museum: black-glaze bowl with
was the “Atelier des petites éstampilles.” In central on a tomb kline from Potideia (Kassandria) in polychrome overpainting from the Hesse Group
from Vulci with seated youth and dog, first quarter
Italy and especially in Rome, we find poculum Macedonia. A typical product of South Etruria—
of the third century ..
vessels—mainly plates and bowls—as well as ves- that is, the territory around Volsinii and Falerii—
sels of the Hesse Group, which were produced in a in the Hellenistic period is what is called ceramica
Vulcian workshop in the first decades of the third argentata, meant to look like metal and at times
century (elephant plates, among others), with ornamented with reliefs. Of distinctly greater
overpainted figural decoration in rich colors and interest in reconstructing the history of painting
a macchia technique on black glaze with high- in Hellenistic Italy are several types of vessels
lights and votive inscriptions to deities in Latin. painted in polychrome—mostly in tempera
This highly innovative vase painting reveals technique—which we know mainly from
definite Tarentine influences, but abruptly ceased Centuripe in Sicily (which also produced tondi
in the second quarter of the third century after with especially cloying matte colors), from Lipari,
the final conquest of Etruscan Vulci and Volsinii from Daunian Canosa and Arpi in Apulia, and
by the Romans. At the end of the fourth century from Alexandria. In terms of painting technique,
a workshop in Vulci had also produced the style, and subject matter, they often show unmis-
Etruscan red-figure “Fould” stamnoi, most proba- takable influences of large-format painting. The
bly designed for sepulchral use, whose paintings same is true of the painted grave steles from
with foreshortening, chiaroscuro, and lighting Paestum and from Lilibaeum in western Sicily.

From Asia Minor to Magna Graecia,
from Thrace to Alexandria
The “Koine” and the Place of Etruscan Painting in the
Art of the Ancient Mediterranean
In its nearly five centuries of development and In this Late Archaic phase, which was so Facing page: Ankara, Archaeological Museum: wall-
with its manifold facets, Etruscan tomb painting strongly influenced by the art of Ionia, wall and painting fragment from a tumulus in Uşak in the
Hermos Valley (Lydia) with the profile head of a
can no longer be considered as either an isolated tomb painting, the often colorful vase painting
red-haired woman, end of the sixth century ..
phenomenon or a genre exclusively influenced in the black-figure technique, and other painting
by Greek painting. It must be seen in the context genres enjoyed a distinct flowering, both in
of the history of art in the entire Mediterranean Etruria and in the eastern Greek region of Asia
region. It is necessary to consider not only the rel- Minor. Political and military pressures, especially
evant sources and monuments relating to Greek the Persian occupation, forced a number of
painting, but also, and especially, original wall Ionian artists, particularly painters and potters,
and tomb painting in various cultural regions to leave their homelands and seek refuge and new
around the Mediterranean from the seventh to working opportunities in South Etruria’s coastal
the second centuries B.C. In Italy itself these centers. Notable examples of Etruscan painting—
regions are primarily Apulia, Campania, and or painting executed in Etruria—from the second
Lucania, to a lesser extent Calabria/Bruttium, half of the sixth century, such as the tomb paint-
Samnium, and Rome. After Etruscan tomb paintings of Tarquinia (the Tombs of the Bulls, the
ing, that of southern Italy constitutes the largest Augurs, the Lionesses, the Jugglers, of Hunting
and most informative inventory of wall painting and Fishing, and the Cardarelli Tomb, for exam-
from pre-Roman Italy, with examples from the ple), the Campana plaques and hydriae from
waning sixth century to the second century .., Caere, the Campana dinoi, and the “Pontic” vases
the majority of them from the fourth and third from Vulci, often compare most favorably with
centuries. Interesting new tomb paintings come to examples of painting along the coast of Asia
light in Apulia and Campania almost every year. Minor, from the offshore islands, and in the bor-
Outside of Italy, tomb paintings are found mainly dering regions to the east. All of them were either
in the eastern Mediterranean region—Macedonia, produced by Ionian painters themselves or reflect
Thrace, western Asia Minor (Lydia, Phrygia, Lycia), the powerful influence of Ionian art. Among
and Alexandria—and on the Crimea in the region these eastern examples are wall paintings—
of the Black Sea. often only fragmentary—in Phrygia (the Painted
Of late the term “koine” has become a kind House in Gordion, painted juniperwood panels
of buzzword. Any number of archaeologists from from a chamber tomb in Tartarli), in Lydia (from
different specialties have used it to characterize a tumulus in Uşak, in the Hermos Valley), and
certain comparable stylistic and iconographic especially in Lycia (two chamber tombs in
phenomena in specific periods and in various Kizilbel and Karaburun, near Elmali), also
regions around the Mediterranean and the Black painted Clazomenaen sarcophagi, painted clay
Sea. For example, many scholars—including relief slabs like those from Larisa, and various
Etruscologists—refer to a Late Archaic eastern vase genres like those of the Little Masters
Greek or Ionian “koine” that extended as far west (Piccoli Maestri) from Samos. Comparisons can
as Etruria and is clearly reflected, as discussed in be made in terms of iconography, style, and
chapter 3, in wall, tomb, and vase painting. painting technique.
FROM ASIA MINOR TO MAGNA GRAECIA, FROM THRACE TO ALEXANDRIA 281

Kizilbel, near Elmali (Lycia), painted chamber The two painted chamber tombs discovered scholars therefore assume that the owner of the
tomb: detail with a warrior wearing helmet near Elmali in Lycia in 1969 and published by the tomb was a non-Greek, probably of Etruscan
and armor in a biga, last quarter of the sixth
American scholar Machtheld Mellink are of par- descent, who had settled in Poseidonia.
century ..
ticular interest. They date from the last quarter of One reads in the archaeology literature of
the sixth and first quarter of the fifth centuries, a “koine” with regard to burial customs in the
and present depictions of a warrior’s departure ninth and eighth century that includes southern
on a biga (probably on his journey into the after- Etruria, Rome, and Latium; a so-called South
life); a (funeral) banquet; a ship; a scene at court Etruscan–Latin “koine” for the fourth and third
with warriors, officials, grooms, and horses; a centuries; a “koine” of tomb architecture from
hunting scene; a mythological scene with the fourth to the second centuries; and a “koine
Gorgons, Pegasus, and Chrysaor; an ekphorà ellenistica italica.” But the most frequent use
(funeral procession); and a battle scene. Their of the term by far is in connection with the Early
rich iconographic repertoire thus includes both Hellenistic period—occasionally Middle or High
Greek and Asian—notably Persian—elements. Hellenism as well—in which a number of differ-
Profile heads of the same Ionian mold can be ent regions, some of them remote from each
seen in the older Lycian tomb and in Tarquinian other, shared a common style and iconography
paintings like those of the Tomb of the Augurs. that is seen in such diverse artistic genres as wall
A number of lovely profile heads also appear on painting (especially in tombs, but also in houses,
fragments of painting from the Painted House in palaces, and temples), mosaics (in both pebble
Gordion, in Phrygia, and from a tomb in Uşak, in and tessera techniques), vase painting (red-figure,
Lydia. But in the Late Archaic period we also find polychrome, and black-glazed), architecture and
such motifs as predatory cats, banquets, ship architectural decoration, terracottas, toreutics,
journeys, and processions in both Etruscan and and jewelry (bronze, silver, and gold). This koine
Ionian painting. encompassed the territories of Macedonia, Epiros,
The famous Tomb of the Diver (del Thrace, southern Russia and portions of Scythia,
Tuffatore) at Paestum, discovered in 1968 and Asia Minor, Alexandria, Magna Graecia (Sicily
published by M. Napoli, comes from the transi- and especially southern Italy), and Etruria.
tion phase between the Late Archaic and Early Specific iconographic motifs (above all orna-
Classical styles, that is the period around 480/470. ments), forms, and stylistic and technical features
It therefore still belongs to the southern Italian can be seen at more or less the same time in all
colony of Poseidonia’s Greek era and is unique these regions, not to mention ideological and reli-
in Greek tomb art and painting. The style and gious elements. It is not always easy to determine
iconography of the wall paintings in this stone where these features originated or how they were
cassone, or “chest”, tomb, with their animated ban- transmitted from one region to the next. In any
quet scenes “al fresco,” were inspired by early case, the term “koine” should be used with cau-
fifth-century Attic red-figure vase painting. The tion. In the following discussion I have somewhat
motif of a naked man diving into the water, on expanded the time frame of “Early Hellenism” to
the ceiling of the tomb, was surely meant to repre- include the century and a half between the mid-
sent the dive into the waters of the Styx, that is, fourth century and the turn from the third to the
the passage from this life to the next, and recalls second century.
the image in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing in It was precisely in this period that tomb
Tarquinia from roughly three decades before, also painting—generally in combination with the
in a Late Archaic Etruscan bronze statuette from development of monumental tomb architecture—
Perugia. The male-only symposium with kottabos came into full flower in a number of regions
players and musical accompaniment may also around the Mediterranean, including southern
be understood as taking place in the afterlife. Etruria, Rome, southern Italy (Apulia, Campania,
Whereas the style and iconography of the paint- and Lucania, to a lesser extent Samnium and
ings in this tomb are distinctly Attic, burial in Bruttium/Calabria), Macedonia, Thrace, southern
painted tombs was at this point a characteristic Russia, Alexandria, and—to a lesser extent—Asia
Etruscan custom. The Etruscans inhabited por- Minor. In most of these areas—significantly, large
tions of Campania north of the Sele River, and portions of the Greek mainland are excluded—
there are painted chamber tombs in Capua. Some tomb painting only became common at this
282 FROM ASIA MINOR TO MAGNA GRAECIA, FROM THRACE TO ALEXANDRIA

Thessaloníki, Archaeological Museum, painted point. It is only in Etruria and parts of Asia Minor possible to identify a number of elements and
stone chest tomb from Aineia/Nea Michaniona that any significant tradition of tomb painting motifs they have in common. Architectural motifs
(Macedonia): detail with objects “hung” on nails
can be traced back into the Orientalizing and in their various forms are well documented in
and a vine frieze with a profile female head, third
Archaic periods, thus to the seventh and/or sixth nearly all the regions in question, both in tomb
centuries. In southern Italy there are only a very paintings and in nonsepulchral wall paintings. As
few tomb paintings from the late sixth and fifth yet only relatively few examples are known from
centuries. On the other hand, the widespread phe- Etruria, such as those in the rear chamber of
nomenon of “Early Hellenistic” tomb painting Vulci’s François Tomb and in Tarquinia’s Tomb
in the larger sense includes not only wall paint- of the Garlands.1
ings but also painted steles (as in Macedonia, From the second group, the following
Thessaly, Alexandria, Cyprus, the Levantine motifs enjoyed particular popularity: crenellation
coast, and Paestum), sarcophagi and urns (as in motifs,2 imitation draperies,3 vines,4 garlands,5
Etruria), and polychrome tomb vessels (as in bucrania, at times combined with rosettes and
Daunian Arpi and Canosa, Centuripe in Sicily, paterae,6 perspective meander friezes,7 dogtooth
Alexandria, and Macedonia). And at this same friezes,8 and cymatia.9
time we also find much more lavish decoration Widespread motifs from the third, figural
in private houses and palaces, including stucco, group are: weapons and weapon friezes,10
painting, and mosaics. From Greece, especially Gorgoneions,11 animal fights,12 the “vine god-
Macedonia, a new type of aristocratic dwelling dess,”13 sea creatures like Nereids (at times with
with andrones, peristyles, and rich decoration was Achilles’ weapons) riding hippocampi or other
transmitted to other cultural regions like Daunia marine animals,14 female heads, at times com-
(Arpi, Salapia), Campania (Buccino), Sicily bined with vine or flower decor,15 chariot races,
(Gela), and southern Russia. some including a Nike,16 seemingly comic scenes
The tomb-painting repertoire includes with pygmies and geranomachies,17 and various
(a) architectural motifs (the “zone style” and the versions of the deductio ad inferos, the journey to
structural or masonry style), (b) ornamental the underworld.18
botanical motifs, and (c) figural motifs. Needless The distribution of these different motifs
to say, there is considerable variation in iconogra- is summarized at the end of this chapter (see end-
phy between the individual regions, but it is also notes).

In some instances the entire figural compo- arms, on Graeco-Persian gems; and for the female Thessaloníki, Archaeological Museum, painted
sition shows the varied uses of elements of servants, on Greek red-figure vases, especially stone chest tomb from Aineia/Nea Mihanióna
(Macedonia): detail with objects “hung” on nails
an Early Hellenistic koine. The figural scene in the those from Kerč in the Crimea.
and a vine frieze with a female head, third quarter
lunette of the main chamber in the famous In Early Hellenism it is also possible to find
Caryatid Tomb in Sveshtari, in Thrace (northeast historical illustration, for example, battle scenes
Bulgaria), from the period around 300, is divided in Macedonian, Thracian, Etruscan, Roman, and
into male (left) and female (right) sections. The Paestan tomb painting, on Apulian red-figure
two central figures are specially emphasized: a and Daunian polychrome vases, and in terracotta
horseman (with a horn behind his ear, a motif ornaments on Canosan vases. Here one thinks of
borrowed from the Zeus Ammon and Alexander the tomb in Kazanlak, in Thrace (ceiling paint-
iconography) is being crowned with a wreath by a ings in the dromos); the François Tomb in Vulci;
tall woman—doubtless a goddess. A procession of the Roman tomb on the Esquiline; Tomb 114 in
four women bearing gifts is lined up behind the the Andriuolo necropolis at Paestum; large-
“goddess” on the right. Two men are striding format vases by the Dareios Painter; and a group
behind the horseman on the left; the one in front of polychrome vessels painted in the tempera
is an arms-bearer. These are clearly motifs and technique—most of them volute kraters—from
combinations of motifs of a primarily Greek Arpi. In addition, a number of innovative stylis-
koine. There are parallels for the horseman on tic elements and painting techniques derived
Greek coins and reliefs, as well as in tomb paint- from Greek monumental and panel painting,
ing in Lucania (Paestum) and Campania (Capua, most of which has been lost, are now reflected in
Nola); for the “goddess” with a wreath, parallels various Mediterranean regions, for example, the
appear again in the tomb painting of Campania use of chiaroscuro effects, shading, flecks of color
and Paestum and on a tomb facade of the Bella (pittura a macchia), dark backgrounds, richer
Tumulus in Vergina, in Macedonia; for the central palettes with numerous blended pigments, and
group in Campanian, Lucanian, and Samnite more highly developed perspective. The tempera
tomb painting (called the ritorno del guerriero), in paintings on the famous Amazon Sarcophagus
southern Italian red-figure vase painting, and in from Tarquinia, the dark-ground ceiling paint-
Alexandrian tomb painting (Tomb I in the ings with vines, sea creatures, and putti in the
Moustafa Pasha necropolis); for the man bearing almost impressionistic a macchia technique

Sveshtari (Thrace), Caryatid Tomb: lunette in Tarquinia’s Tomb of the Garlands, and the Minor, Alexandria, Apulia, Campania, and Etruria
painting with hero being crowned with a wreath, dark-ground bucrania-and-paterae frieze in an (first in Cerveteri and Orvieto/Volsinii, later in
ca. 300 ..
aristocratic tomb (Tomb 8) on the acropolis of the Chiusi, Perugia, and Cortona region), though
Peucetian Monte Sannace, in central Apulia, pre- to be sure all the details of the original pattern
sent clear examples of these advances. We also were not universally adopted, and numerous
see them in the later tomb paintings—genuine variations were possible. The earliest Etruscan
megalographs—dating from the turn from the example, in the Ripe Sant’Angelo necropolis at
fourth to the third centuries in Paestum’s Cerveteri, is uncommonly large, and it is distin-
Spinazzo necropolis. guished by a double barrel vault of wedge-shaped
In the realm of tomb architecture, the so- stones and stucco ornaments. The only Etruscan
called Macedonian type is especially noteworthy. tomb of this type decorated with wall paintings
It consists of a tumulus, a temple- or gatelike is the Tassinaia Tomb at Chiusi, which was hol-
facade with Doric or Ionian columns or pilasters, lowed out of the local stone. The monumental
subterranean stone-block construction, generally Tomb of the Medusa in Daunian Arpi, from the
with an antechamber and main chamber, barrel first half of the third century, is an excellent
vaulting, stucco and painted decoration on the example of this process of assimilation. It has
facade and chamber walls, and stone furnishings an imposing facade, three barrel-vaulted cham-
like klines and even thrones. It served as the model bers, and rich three-dimensional, painted, and
for the tombs of a number of local elites in vari- mosaic decorations. It was excavated and pub-
ous Mediterranean regions after Macedonia, lished by M. Mazzei. Templelike facades were
under King Philip II and his son Alexander the common elements of Hellenistic, especially Early
Great, had become not only the leading political Hellenistic, tomb architecture, both in built-up
and military power in the Mediterranean but also and excavated (especially rock) tombs. One thinks
a noted center of culture, art, and science that mainly of the rock tombs in Norchia (Doric
attracted artists, philosophers, and scholars from Tombs) and Sovana (Ildebranda Tomb and Pola
the entire Greek world. This new type of tomb Tomb) in southern Etruria. In Macedonia and in
was adopted in the waning fourth and the third Apulia and Campania, the interior walls can be
century in Thrace, Illyria, southern Russia, Asia structured by either relief or painted half-

columns or wall pilasters. Richly ornamented Specific architectural features and decorative Sveshtari (Thrace), Caryatid Tomb: detail of the
and sometimes painted stone klines of the same forms like column bases, Ionic half-columns, relief frieze, originally painted, with vine-women
serving as caryatids, ca. 300 ..
type—with sawed leg shapes—are found in cham- moldings, and rosettes are encountered on both
ber tombs in Macedonia, Thrace, Asia Minor, sides of the Adriatic, in Apulia and Etruria as well
Alexandria, Apulia, Campania, and southern as Illyria and Macedonia.
Etruria (here notably in Cerveteri). Coffered ceil- A great many questions naturally confront
ings with relief and/or painted decoration became anyone who attempts to determine where specific
especially popular after the middle of the fourth motifs, patterns, and beliefs originated or tries to
century, surely inspired by the work of the Greek trace how they were transmitted from one cul-
painter Pausias, as we see from examples in Greek tural region to the next. For the most part there
temple architecture and in chamber tombs in are no universally valid answers. While it is not
Etruria (Tomb of the Garlands in Tarquinia), always possible to pin down precise sources, the
southern Italy, and Thrace (for example, the main inspirations clearly came from the eastern
Ostrusha Tumulus at Shipka). Stone doors, at Mediterranean region—Athens, Macedonia—
times with painted or bronze decoration, are and Magna Graecia with its colonial center of
found in tombs in such culturally far-flung Tarentum. Considering the problem of the prove-
regions as Macedonia, Thrace, Alexandria, nance of specific motifs and the phenomenon
Tarentum, Apulia, and Etruria. Corinthian of the koine, one is reminded of Goethe’s wise
columns appear in Early Hellenistic sepulchral observation in his West-Östlicher Divan: “Wer sich
contexts in Thrace (Sveshtari), Peucetia (Ruvo), selbst und andre kennt / wird auch hier erkennen:
and Tarentum. The use of caryatids in tombs is / Orient und Okzident / sind nicht mehr zu
seen in Tarentum, Messapia (Vaste), Thrace trennen” (“Those who understand themselves
(Sveshtari), and Rhodes, later in Cyrene as well. and others are forced to recognize that Orient
The motif of an eagle clutching a bundle of light- and Occident can no longer be distinguished”).
ning bolts appears on the console molding of the Various possibilities can be considered with
Thracian Caryatid Tomb at Sveshtari (northeast respect to transmission: imports and exports of
Bulgaria) and on figural capitals from Tarentum specific goods, above all pottery, metals, and tex-
and Lecce (Hypogeum in Palazzo Palmieri). tiles; gifts of luxury articles by embassies; the

exchange of pattern drawings; movement by indi- Wassurinsky in southern Russia. Indications that
vidual tradesmen, artists, and craftsmen; and the crenellated frieze motif originated in weaving
migrating workshops. For example, the Early are the mention in the middle of the fourth cen-
Hellenistic mosaics in Daunia appear to have tury of a “chitoniskos pyrgotos” in the shrine of
been the work of northern Greek workshops. Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis in Athens,
M. Pfrommer has identified the relatively strong also that of a “pyrgota” on the baldachin of the
influence of Magna Graecia, southern Italy, and ceremonial tent of Ptolemy II. In addition to the
central Italy on Macedonian art with respect to ceiling paintings mentioned, the crenellated
the vine ornaments so common in tomb painting. motif appears in Tarquinia on several sarcopha-
This is proof that we should not always assume gus lids and on a Graeco-Italian amphora, in
a predominant flow of ideas from east to west. Egypt on a wooden sarcophagus from El Faiyûm
Pfrommer even suspects the presence of Italian and on fragments of painted stucco from
metalworkers in Macedonia and the Black Sea Alexandria. In Greek mosaics, however, we only
region, although they are not documented in the find crenellated designs beginning in the later
ancient sources. Southern and central Italian dec- third century and especially the second century.
orative forms can be seen in Macedonia, southern The typical woven border design has there been
Russia, Asia Minor, and Alexandria. Apparently translated into arrangements of tiny stones.
even bronze objects found their way from Magna Events like the military campaigns of
Graecia to Macedonia, Thrace, and southern Alexander the Great in the East and Alexander the
Russia. Of course it must be admitted that schol- Molossian and Pyrrhus into Magna Graecia must
Paestum, Museo Archeologico: east end of Tomb 4
ars dispute the provenance of many famous certainly have contributed greatly to the creation of
(1971) in Paestum’s Andriuolo necropolis (chest examples of metalworking to this day, one of this cultural and artistic koine. The motif of the
tomb) with dueling scene and palmette in the them being the colossal bronze krater from the weapon frieze, for example, only became truly
gable, last quarter of the fourth century .. Celtic princely tomb at Vix (eastern France). In popular in southern Italy (and subsequently in
metalworking and goldsmithing—one thinks of Etruria as well, as in Tarquinia’s Giglioli Tomb and
wreaths, diadems, and pendants—there appears Caere’s Tomb of the Reliefs) after Alexander the
to have been a koine that extended from Apulia Molossian’s expedition (in the 330s). In the Early
across Epirus, Macedonia, and beyond. We find Hellenistic period, Magna Graecia and its leading
similar types of animal-head rhytons in Thrace, cultural center of Tarentum played an important
southern Russia, and southern Italy, but not intermediary role in the transmission of motifs and
Macedonia. Textiles, some of them produced in patterns between different parts of the Greek world
eastern Asia and Persia, are certain to have played and Etruria and Rome/Latium. This has been
a large role in the transmission of ornamental demonstrated on the basis of the painted orna-
motifs. Unfortunately, our knowledge of ancient mental friezes and the architectural botanical frieze
textiles from the Mediterranean region, especially in Vulci’s famous François Tomb. The impression-
Etruscan textiles, is still very limited. A number of istic ceiling paintings in Tarquinia’s Tomb of the
the motifs found in the gilt terracottas applied to Garlands, from the first half of the third century,
Tarentine sarcophagi, in mosaics, and in wall also appear to owe a great deal to the art of
painting appear to have been based primarily on Tarentum and Apulia. The phenomenon of a pri-
textile designs. Crenellated friezes are an obvious marily Greek-influenced koine or a “Grecized
example. oikumene” is mirrored on a politico-cultural level
We often find crenellated friezes—in com- in the fact that the multinational embassy that
bination with other ornaments like dogtooth called on Alexander the Great in Babylon in 324
friezes and comb designs—in painting on tomb included Lucanians and Bruttii from Italy.
ceilings. In effect they form a kind of baldachin In some regions, Apulia, Macedonia, and
above a burial spot. Such tapestry-like designs, Thrace among them, a kind of religious koine, or
generally with dark-red merlons around a blue “koine cultuelle,” was developed as well, especially
or light-colored field, adorn the ceilings of cham- with respect to Dionysian cults. Macedonian-
ber tombs mainly from the third century in Epirotic funerary customs like cremation burials
Tarquinia (Tomb 5512), in Rhegion in southern in bronze hydriai ornamented with gold wreaths
Italy, in Lefkadia in Macedonia (Tomb of Lyson are also partially documented in Tarentum and in
and Kallikles), in Alexandria, and on Mount Basilicata (Armentum).

To summarize, we can justifiably speak of a As I have already noted in my introduction,
kind of cultural and artistic koine, especially in the last two to three decades have brought a
the Early Hellenistic epoch and even beyond, wealth of new discoveries of painted tombs—
that encompassed various central and eastern especially in Macedonia and Thrace—that have
Mediterranean regions as well as the Black Sea enormously increased our knowledge of pre-
area. It was not limited solely to tomb and wall Roman monumental painting, especially from
painting, but also informed other art genres, not the Late Classical and Early and High Hellenistic
to mention certain cultural and religious prac- periods—and in many cases they have shed new
tices. This koine included not only Greek territo- light on Etruscan tomb painting as well. Almost
ries, cities, and colonies but also other peoples annually, important, even exceptional new finds
and cultures in contact with the Greek world, come to light that tend to bring to painting,
if only their social elites. It thus remained a so long neglected by scholars, the attention it
“linguaggio dei ceti dominanti” (language of the deserves. Unfortunately, many of the tomb
dominant classes). The period’s general political paintings recently brought to light have been
and economic development, highly international published either not at all or only in a cursory Above: Vergina (Macedonia), so-called Tomb of
Eurydike: architecturally structured back wall and
in scope, doubtless contributed greatly to the manner, and for Macedonian and Thracian tomb
marble throne painted with an underworld
propagation and diffusion of this koine. For all painting we have nothing resembling a corpus of
quadriga, third quarter of the fourth century ..
its common features, one must be wary of sweep- documentation and thorough summary. Since the
ing generalizations; it is essential that one take death in 1993 of the famous Greek archaeologist Below: Lefkadia (Macedonia), Petsas Tomb:
into account the many differences between cul- Manolis Andronikos, to whom we are indebted reconstruction of the two-story tomb facade with
tures, artistic genres, and eras. Many features for so many magnificent discoveries and publica- relief and painted decoration (watercolor drawing),
appear as early as the Classical period and persist tions of Macedonian royal and princely tombs, ca. 300 ..
into High or even Late Hellenistic times. In any many of them painted, no leading scholar of his
case, one can assert that antiquity had never rank has stepped forward to take his place.
before seen a koine of such magnitude and The number of monumental Macedonian
importance. chamber tombs, often richly ornamented and

some of them containing luxurious grave goods ing, the extremely high-quality frieze on its Doric
(bronze weapons, silver vessels, gold jewelry, facade deserves special attention. The beginnings
golden larnakes, textiles, and ivory objects) has of perspective and spatial effects in its depiction
now grown to more than eighty, most of them of a hunt with many figures—probably including
in Vergina—Macedonia’s ancient capital of Alexander the Great—in a winter landscape are
Aegae—Lefkadia, Dion, Pella, Amphipolis, and most impressive. The paintings in the nearby
the Thessaloníki region. They date from between Tomb of Persephone present—in a kind of pictura
the third quarter of the fourth century and the compendiaria—the dramatic abduction of
beginning of the second century, and were the Persephone by Hades, lord of the underworld, in
burial places of the royal family, leading aristo- his chariot. Some archaeologists have attributed
cratic clans, and military leaders. Figural paint- these superb paintings to the well-known Greek
ings tend to be concentrated on the facade and painter Nikosthenes. A tomb facade from the
the interior walls and ceilings, but in some “Bella Tumulu” is dominated by large-scale
instances they also adorn stone klines (as in a figures, a goddess (or personification?) crowning
tomb in Potideia with fighting animals and the heroicized inhabitant of the tomb with a war-
Dionysian motifs and another at Amphipolis) rior’s wreath. A prominent monument in Lefkadia
and thrones (as in the “Tomb of Eurydike” in is the long-known Petsas Tomb, with its two-story
Vergina). One of Manolis Andronikos’s dreams facade (similar to that of the roughly contempo-
came true in 1977, when he located a group of rary Lagrasta Hypogeum II in Canosa, in Daunian
tombs beneath a large tumulus in Vergina, most northern Apulia) adorned with relief friezes and
still intact, with extremely rich grave goods from large-figure paintings. These depict a kind of
Aghios Athanassios (Macedonia), Great Tumulus:
detail of the dark-ground frieze of the painted the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic periods; he deductio ad inferos with Hermes Psychopompos
tomb facade with banqueting scene, end of the was able to ascribe the most important one with leading the deceased to the underworld judges.
fourth century .. all likelihood to King Philip II. As for the paint- On the templelike facade of the so-called Palmette

Tomb, a reclining couple is depicted as though at tomb entrance there are also two young men,
a banquet in the gable, and the unique ceiling nearly life-size, painted in a style that almost
painting in the antechamber presents aquatic reminds one of the famous Tuscan Renaissance
plants against a turquoise background—perhaps painter Piero della Francesca.
symbolizing the Elysian Fields. Most of these There are a number of chamber tombs,
tomb paintings are of exceptional quality and mostly from the fourth and third centuries, both
reveal a proximity to the great Greek painters in Thrace (now for the most part in Bulgaria) and
of the middle and later fourth century like on the Crimea in the northern Black Sea region,
Nikosthenes, Philoxenos, Nikias, and Apelles. The the majority of them built of stone blocks and
most noteworthy of the monumental tombs in covered by tumuli. They consist of a dromos and
the vicinity of Thessaloníki is the one from the one or more round or rectangular chambers,
end of the fourth century with a temple facade and they have cantilevered vaulting, or pseudo-
that was excavated in the large tumulus at Aghios cupolas. The Macedonian-style barrel vault is also
Athanassios in 1994. It is soon to be published by seen occasionally. Because the “barbarian” cul-
M. Tsimbidou-Avloniti. The colorful, very well tures of the Thracians and Scythians were widely
preserved paintings on its facade include a tall Hellenized, many of these tombs were adorned
frieze (35 cm) of a nocturnal symposium with with wall paintings, the earliest of them from the
six men lounging on klines and listening to the beginning of the fourth century. The panel and
sounds of the cithara and flute while a young ser- incrustation style in imitation of architecture was
vant pours them wine. Groups of armed men and especially popular, one that became increasingly
horsemen with torches approach from either side. widespread in the Greek and Greek-influenced
Aghios Athanssios (Macedonia), Great Tumulus:
The dark background emphasizes the banqueters’ world beginning in the fourth century and can be detail of the dark-ground frieze of the painted
colorful garments. This is the first painting of a considered a precursor of the so-called First tomb facade with horsemen and men carrying
banquet in Greek tomb art. On either side of the Pompeian Wall Style. Particularly noteworthy torches, end of the fourth century ..

among the (as yet) relatively few figural Thracian Caryatid Tomb at Sveshtari, already described,
tomb paintings are those in a tomb at Magliz with its goddess crowning the heroicized tomb
with a frieze of Panathenean prize amphorae, pal- owner on horseback; and the small mythological
mettes, and weapons; those in the famous tomb at scenes, female heads, flowers, and vines in the
Kazanlak, with banquet and procession scenes in ceiling coffers of the Ostrusha Tomb in Shipka.
the painted cupola; the lunette painting in the The multichamber tomb at Sveshtari is imposing

Kazanlak (Thrace), chamber tomb: detail of the
painted cupola with banqueting scene, ca. 300 ..
because of its rich interior architecture and in diameter—is best known for its outstanding
decoration, with numerous relief and painted ceiling paintings, with a rich iconographic pro-
caryatids, a Doric frieze, and a small naiskos gram largely based on the myth of Achilles and
with a Gorgoneion in the gable. By contrast, the Dionysian motifs. These elegantly decorated
Ostrusha Tomb—a houselike structure built of lacunaria make one think of the well-known
two monoliths beneath a tumulus seventy meters fourth-century Greek painter Pausias, who was

Roshava Chouka, near Haskovo (Thrace), tumulus
tomb: two details of the cupola painting with
hunting and battle scenes, end of the fourth
century ..
credited by the ancients as having invented ceil- in southern Bulgaria, the renowned Bulgarian
ing painting. These depictions of Greek myths archaeologist Georgi Kitov excavated a tomb con-
and heroes demonstrate the high degree of sisting of a dromos, antechamber, and tholoslike
Hellenization of the Thracian ruling class in the round main chamber containing astonishing fres-
second half of the fourth century. This is also coes from the late fourth century. These dynamic,
amply evident from the often astonishingly rich colorful paintings shaded with hatching in the
grave goods, attesting to its wealth and power, “cupola” of the main chamber present battle and
made of electron, gold, silver, and bronze, some hunting scenes with horsemen, hunters on foot,
of them the work of local Thracian artists, some dogs, boars, and stags. The figure of a naked
imported from Greece. The most recent discovery hunter recalls the stag hunt on the deer-hunting
in the realm of Thracian tomb painting was made mosaic by Gnosis in Pella and various late
in 2002/2003. In a monumental tumulus—called Etruscan urn reliefs. Stag hunts are also presented
Roshava Chouka—in the vicinity of Haskovo in tomb paintings in Paestum. As status symbols

for royalty or the aristocratic elite, hunting scenes They are found in Apulia, Campania, and Lucania,
are also found in Macedonian and Etruscan tomb fewer in Samnium and Bruttium/ Calabria. There
painting, on grave steles and sarcophagi in eastern is a distinct concentration of them in the gulf
Greece and Asia Minor, as well as on Thracian sil- regions of Naples, Salerno, and Tarentum and
ver and bronze vessels and gold jewelry. their surroundings. The main Apulian sites are
The city of Alexandria, founded in the Canosa and Arpi in Daunia, in the north; Monte
north of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 331, very Sannace, Gravina, and Ruvo in central Peucetia;
soon became one of the leading art and cultural and Egnazia and Rudiae in Messapia, in the south.
centers of the Hellenistic world. The city’s famous In Campania there have been finds in the Gulf of
panel paintings have all been lost, but fragments Tarento region, in Naples, Cumae, Capua, and
of tomb painting have been preserved in its exten- Nola. Finally, the largest concentration of painted
sive necropolises. Their tomb complexes, gener- tombs in southern Italy, some 120 discovered to
ally arranged around subterranean, peristyle-like date, is found in Paestum, in Lucania. A large
courtyards, are mainly decorated with architec- number of Paestum’s tomb paintings have now
tural, ornamental, and botanical paintings. Figural been published in a compendious work by
scenes like the one on the facade of Tomb I in the A. Pontrandolfo, A. Rouveret, and M. Cipriani,
Moustafa Pasha necropolis are relatively rare. The and R. Benassai has recently published a fine
painting of a landscape with palm trees in one book on the tomb painting of Campania and
of the tombs in the Anfoushi necropolis is also Samnium. For Apulia, however, we are still
deserving of special interest. Grave steles, most of dependent on F. Tiné Bertocchi’s comprehensive
them painted with warriors and horsemen, col- study from the 1960s. Most of southern Italy’s
ored mosaics in both the pebble and tessera tech- painted tombs lie in regions inhabited by native
niques, and some of the polychrome Hadra vases Italian peoples; the only noteworthy tomb paint-
also help us to reconstruct the history of ings from the Greek colonial metropolises are Left: Tarento, Museo Archeologico: detail of a
Alexandrian painting. those of Tarentum and Naples. The cities estab- painted kline from a Tarentine chamber tomb with
palmette, third century ..
In Italy, southern Italian tomb paintings— lished in southern Italy by the Romans, who had
as yet less well known and not all adequately different burial customs, have no tomb paintings.
Right: Kazanlak, Archaeological Museum: wall-
published—constitute the second-largest and We see, then, that southern Italian tomb painting painting fragment with palmette from a chamber
most important complex of monumental painting was a phenomenon primarily associated with the tomb in Magliz (Thrace), end of the fourth
from the pre-Roman period after those of Etruria. indigenous Italic peoples, predominantly those of century ..

Campania-Lucania and Apulia. It was practiced facades as well as their interior walls are often
from the waning sixth century down to the sec- decorated with paintings.
ond century B.C., but especially flourished during The rich iconography of southern Italian
the second half of the fourth and first half of the tomb painting can be subsumed under five main
third centuries—or in the same period that pro- headings: architectural motifs, ornamental and
duced the most important tomb paintings in botanical motifs, antiquaria, objects, and figural
Macedonia, Thrace, and southern Russia. The motifs. The last-named can be subdivided
earliest—Late Archaic—examples come from into three groups: animals; gods, demons, and
Tarentum and Ugento in Apulia, Capua in mythological creatures; and figural scenes. As
Campania, and Paestum in Lucania, all of them already noted, figural paintings are found mainly
centers strongly influenced by Greeks or Etruscans. in tombs in and around Paestum and in northern
In Apulian paintings, ornamental and botanical Campania (Capua, Nola), and are thus limited to
motifs predominate; the northern ones tend to necropolises of the eastern Italic, Samnitic peo-
be largely figural. Of the latter, the Tomb of the ples. In Apulian tombs, by contrast, architectural,
Diver, discovered in Paestum in 1968 and dating ornamental, and botanical motifs predominate,
from around 480/470, when Poseidonia was still although in the last few years the number of
dominated by Greeks, is an outstanding example figural examples in Daunia has increased. In con-
that has already been discussed in another contrast to Etruscan tombs and southern Italian red-
text. The last tomb paintings date from the sec- figure vases, southern Italian tombs only very
ond century—the High to Late Hellenistic rarely have depictions of Greek myths. Their main
periods—and are found in Tarentum. In southern subjects have to do with the cult of the dead or the
Italy, in contrast to Etruria, frescoes—and occa- funeral games held in honor of the deceased, like
sionally tempera paintings—decorate not only chariot races, boxing and wrestling, and bloody
chamber tombs but also smaller types like half- duels that in many respects seem to be precursors
chamber tombs, stone cistae, cassone, and sar- of Roman gladiatorial games. Tombs for men
cophagus tombs, occasionally even fossa tombs. often present different themes than
In Campania and Lucania—also in Paestum— tombs for women. Typical of the
cassone tombs clearly predominate. Their former are hunting scenes,
296
horsemen and warriors, and especially the ritorno (also presented in Tarquinia’s Tomb of the
del guerriero, the victorious homecoming of the Pygmies)—and scenes involving the phlyax, a
tomb owner, heroicized as a warrior and eques, comic actor who frequently appears on Paestan
with his trophies. Such scenes were probably also vases (for example, those of Asteas) and who
meant to symbolize triumph over death. Typical reflects the importance of theater and farce in
feminine subjects are the prothesis, that is, the southern Italy. Naturally there are considerable
laying-out of the deceased on a kline, perhaps differences in style and quality of the tomb paint-
beneath a baldachin, surrounded by mourners and ings, perhaps owing to the period in which they
bearers of gifts—a motif known in Greek art since were produced, the specific topography, and/or
the Geometric period—and scenes from the oikos, their subject matter, not to mention the activity of
that is the female, domestic sphere, in which the different painters and workshops. The older exam-
deceased, at times assisted by a serving woman, ples in Paestum are more like colored drawings,
is depicted at her toilet or spinning wool, as on whereas many of the later paintings clearly show
numerous Attic grave steles. Funeral games, both the influence of innovative Greek styles and tech-
bloodless and bloody, are found in both male and niques such as shading, chiaroscuro effects, flecks
female tombs. Some scenes, with or without the of color, highlights, an expanded palette, and
appearance of demons, quite obviously refer to the attempts at perspective. In this connection one
journey into the underworld. In Tomb 114 of the ought to mention a group of painted chamber
Andriuolo necropolis at Paestum, dating from tombs in Paestum’s Spinazzo necropolis from the
around 330/320, we find what may be a depiction turn of the fourth to the third centuries. There,
of a historical event, namely the battle between the large-format wall frescoes—true megalographs—
Lucanians of Paestum and the Tarentines led by include processional scenes and pictures of men Tarento, Museo Archeologico: painted gable-
Alexander the Molossian, in which the tomb clasping hands (the dextrarum iunctio), in which shaped lid of the Tarentine Sarcophagus of the
Athlete, beginning of the fifth century ..
owner lost his life. It is set in a mountainous land- the deceased is identified as a togatus and thus a
scape complete with a herd of cattle. Unusual worthy official, much as in certain Etruscan tombs
Following pages: Paestum, Museo Archeologico,
subjects are the Geranomachy—the from the later fourth and third centuries—for Tomb 123 “Taranto” from Paestum’s Spinazzo
seemingly humorous battle example, the Tomb of the Meeting in Tarquinia— necropolis: section of the right wall with matron
between pygmies and cranes or on the painted and signed pinax in the and horseman, ca. 300 .. or shortly thereafter.
297
Left: Paestum, Museo Archeologico, Tomb 87 from antechamber of the Tomb of the Medusa in lican era has survived. According to the literary
Paestum’s Spina-Gaudo necropolis: detail of the Daunian Arpi. sources (Pliny Nat. Hist. 35.19; Dionysius of
north long side with prothesis scene, ca. 340/330 ..
Increasing numbers of new discoveries Halicarnassus 16.6), narrative paintings were
are being made in southern Italy, in contrast to already known in Rome in the waning fourth cen-
Right: Paestum, Museo Archeologico, Tomb 87
from Paestum’s Spina-Gaudo necropolis: detail Etruria, and a well-illustrated overview of the tury. In 304/303, for example, C. Fabius Pictor
of the west end with Nereid on a hippocampus, region’s tomb painting on the lines of the present painted scenes from the Second Samnite War in the
ca. 340/330 .. volume is certainly needed. In September 2003, Temple of Salus. The painting of triumphs, mainly
for example, the archaeologist Marina Mazzei, for propaganda purposes, with a continuous narra-
since unfortunately deceased, excavated a cham- tive of battles, victories, sieges, and city conquests
ber tomb in Arpi, near Foggia—the so-called generally arranged in friezes, one atop the other, is
Tomb of the Nike (della Nike)—with a dromos, a documented beginning in 264. Among the more
houselike facade with gable, and a tomb chamber splendid examples of Roman tomb painting are the
with barrel vault. It dates from the waning fourth fragments preserved in the tomb on the Esquiline
or early third century. Of particular interest is the Hill of one Q. Fabius (Max. Rullianus?) from the
painted decoration in tempera on the gable of the first half of the third century. They present—
facade: a victorious cavalryman—apparently a probably much like triumphal painting that has
Daunian from Arpi—with lance, helmet, and been lost—episodes and especially battle scenes
shield, is being crowned with a wreath by a hover- from some conflict, once again probably from the
ing winged Nike, a vanquished foe collapsed at his Second Samnite War, and are distinguished by their
feet. Both the iconography of this unique facade friezelike arrangement and hierarchical figural pro-
painting and the way tempera was applied to the portions, as well as a kind of pittura a macchia with
reddish ground compare favorably with contem- highlights and chromatic effects. The celebratory,
porary polychrome vases from Canosa and espe- commemorative character of these paintings is
cially Arpi, which we know largely thanks to wholly un-Greek; it has much in common, though
Mazzei. One could postulate that this dramatic on different subject matter, with the processions
scene reflects the historical reality of the Second found in so many Etruscan tomb paintings. The
Samnite War and the Battle of Ausculum (Ascoli much cruder paintings of the Arieti Tomb and the
Satriano) between the Romans and Pyrrhus, in small-figure paintings on military themes on the
which Daunian soldiers, including Arpians, facade of the Scipio tomb on the Via Appia date
fought on the Roman side. only from the second century.
Finally, let us look at Rome itself, where only One must, therefore, view the phenomenon
very little painting from the middle and late repub- of Etruscan tomb painting—especially the later

examples from the Late Classical and Early to from Etruscan to Roman painting, which is
High Hellenistic periods—against this larger equally saturated with elements of Greek paint-
cultural background, even though many of its ing, not so much as a distinct break as a kind
features, particularly those specific to funerary of evolution. As Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli
customs and ideology, are uniquely Etruscan. emphasized, elements of Etruscan art and paint-
Many qualities of Roman painting—especially ing lived on in Roman folk art, and even con-
Foggia, Museo Civico Archeologico, Tomb of the
the genres of tomb and triumphal painting— tributed to the development of the art of late Horsemen (Tomba dei Cavalieri), a half-chamber
had their roots in earlier Etruscan art. Massimo antiquity, which was not as heavily dependent tomb from Arpi, back wall with two horsemen, end
Pallottino, for example, saw the “transition” on Greek models. of the fourth century ..

Endnotes
1 The widespread appearance of paintings that imitate chests, Etrusco-Italic architectural terracottas, and
architecture (South Etruria, Apulia, Sicily, Macedonia, Scythian metal objects.
Greece, Delos, southern Russia, Asia Minor, Palestine, 7 Perspective, three-dimensional meander friezes are
Alexandria) has been comprehensively treated in recent found in tomb painting in Etruria (Vulci), southern
years by A. Andreou, Griechische Wanddekorationen Italy (Paestum, Tarentum), and southern Russia
(1989) and P. Guldager-Bilde, “Aspects of Hellenism in (Anapa).
Italy: Towards a Cultural Unity?,” Acta Hyperborea 5 8Painted dogtooth designs, at times in perspective, we
(Copenhagen 1993), pp. 151–77.
know from the tomb painting of Etruria (Tarquinia,
2 The crenellation motifs are discussed elsewhere in the Cerveteri), southern Russia (Mount Wassurinsky),
text. Thrace (Kazanlak), and Alexandria, also from Apulian
3 Painted draperies “suspended” from painted nails are vase painting, and—in stucco—Apulian chamber
common; they are found, for example, in the tomb tombs (Arpi, Rudiae).
painting of Etruria (Tarquinia: Tomb of the Tapestry, 9 Of the three types of cymatia, the Ionian version is
Tomb of the Anina Family), Campania (Capua), and most common in tomb painting; examples of it are seen
Apulia (Tarentum, Monte Sannace, Egnazia). in Macedonia, Thrace (Kazanlak, Shipka), southern
4Vines are found in the tomb painting of Macedonia, Russia, Etruria (Tarquinia, Vulci), and southern Italy
Thrace, southern Russia, Apulia, Campania, Calabria, (Capua, Nola, Paestum).
and Etruria, also in mosaics, on Apulian red-figure and 10Depictions of weapons are most often seen in tomb
Gnathia vases, on Etruscan mirrors, sarcophagi, and painting, as in Macedonia (Lefkadia, Vergina, Aghios
terracotta plaques, in architectural friezes (Ildebranda Athanassios, Tragilos), Thrace (Magliz), Apulia
Tomb in Sovana, Lattanzi Tomb in Norchia), in tomb (Tarentum, Egnazia), Lucania (Paestum), and Etruria
reliefs in Etruria and Apulia (Palmiere Hypogeum at (Tarquinia, Cerveteri, Chiusi), but we also find them
Lecce), and in Macedonian, Thracian, and southern in architectural reliefs as in Dion in Macedonia, in
Russian toreutics. Termessos in Asia Minor, in Canosa in Apulia, in
5The garland motif, typologically somewhat younger Norchia in Etruria, and in Pergamon.
than the vine motif, is found, for example, in numerous 11Gorgoneions—in painted and relief forms—most
tomb paintings of southern Italy (Naples, Nola, Sarno, often decorate the centers of gables on tomb facades
Paestum, Reggio Calabria, and Tarentum), Etruria or in tomb chambers, as in Tarquinia (Tomb of the
(Tarquinia, Chiusi), Macedonia, Aegina, southern Gorgoneion), Naples (Cristallini Hypogeum), Daunian
Russia, and Alexandria, also on Hadra vases, in Arpi (Hypogeum of Medusa), and Thracian Sveshtari
mosaics, and in Etruscan sarcophagus and urn reliefs. (naiskos in the Caryatid Tomb). They also appear as
6 Bucrania are mainly found in tomb paintings and episemata on shields in tomb painting of Apulia
architectural friezes—both sepulchral and sacred— (Egnazia) and Macedonia (Aghios Athanassios), on
in Thrace (Kazanlak, Sveshtari), Macedonia (Aghios the gables of Paestan grave steles, on Alexandrian locu-
Athanassios), Apulia (Tarentum, Monte Sannace, lus plaques, on clay antefixae (especially in Tarentum),
Brindisi), Etruria (Cerveteri, Tarquinia), Greece, and on the volutes of Apulian kraters, as clay ornaments
Asia Minor (Epidauros, Samothrace, Pergamon, on tomb vases (Canosa), on coffered ceilings (as in
Chersonesos, Callatis), also on Hellenistic altars, in Perugia’s Hypogeum of the Volumni), and on Etruscan
Greek pebble mosaics, on Apulian red-figure vases, urns and sarcophagus chests, etc.
Tarentine vessels in precious metals, Etruscan urn

12Animal fights generally show wild animals and fabu- 15 Female heads, at times in vine decor or chalices of
lous beasts as victors—lions, panthers, bulls, griffins— acanthus leaves, appear in tomb painting in Etruria
and deer, stags, and horses as the vanquished. Such (Vulci: François Tomb), Macedonia (Néa Michaniona),
scenes frequently appear in a sepulchral context and are Thrace (Shipka: Ostrusha Tomb), and southern Russia
generally thought to symbolize the inexorability of (Bliznitza Tomb), also on Thracian metal vessels, in
death, the creation and extinction of life. They are fre- Etruscan mirror engravings, in southern Italian and
quently found in tomb painting in Etruria (Cerveteri, Etruscan figural capitals (from the Campanari Tomb
Tarquinia, Vulci), Samnium (Alife), Campania (Capua), in Vulci, for example), on Etruscan architectural terra-
Lucania (Paestum, Pontecagnano), and Macedonia cottas, in southern Italian tomb friezes (Palmieri
(Potideia), on Etruscan sarcophagus and urn reliefs, in Hypogeum at Lecce), on Etruscan red-figure vases (a
mirror and cista engravings, on gilt terracotta decor Volterran krater by the Hesione Painter) and Volsinian
on Tarentine and southern Russian sarcophagi, on relief vases, and especially frequently on Apulian red-
Faliscan, Etruscan, Apulian, and Kertschan red-figure figure and Gnathia vases.
vases, on Alexandrian hydriae, in Greek, Macedonian, 16 We know such chariot races from the tomb painting
Alexandrian, and Apulian mosaics, and on Thracian of Macedonia (Vergina: Prince’s Tomb), Thrace
and Scythian gold and silver objects. (Kazanlak, Magliz), and Paestum, from Apulian red-
13The motif of the “vine goddess” appears in manifold figure, polychrome, and Gnathia vases, from black-
forms in painting, sculpture, and reliefs, as, for example, glazed and Thracian silver vessels. The motif of the
in Tarquinian tomb painting (Tomb of the Typhon), in Nike in a biga or quadriga is especially common in
Sveshtari’s Caryatid Tomb in Thrace, in Macedonian tomb painting in Paestum and in Apulian vase paint-
mosaics, on Greek marble thrones, on Thracian and ing; it is also documented in the form of terracotta
Scythian metal vessels, on southern Russian grave steles statuettes.
and gold reliefs, on Apulian red-figure vases, and on 17Geranomachies are documented in tomb painting
southern Italian bronzes. in Tarquinia in Etruria, in Paestum, and in southern
14 The motif of Nereids riding on sea creatures, which Russia, on Beoetian Kabeiric vases, and on red-figure
goes back to Aeschylus, is found in tomb painting in Volterran kelebai.
Paestum and Thrace (the coffered ceiling in the 18Hellenized versions of the deductio ad inferos
Ostrusha Tumulus at Shipka), in mosaics in Macedonia with Hermes Psychopompos are found, for example,
and Daunia, on gilt terracotta ornaments of Tarentine in tomb painting in Macedonia (Lefkadia: Petsas
and southern Russian sarcophagi, on Apulian red- Tomb), Tarentum, Daunia (Arpi, Canosa), Samnium
figure and polychrome vases, on vessels of the Lipari (Isernia), and southern Russia. In Etruscan tomb
Painter, and on a polychrome marble bowl—probably painting and tomb art, as well as in a few instances
Tarentine—in the Getty Museum in Malibu. of Paestan tomb painting, local versions that include
demons predominate.

Appendixes
C = Cerveteri O = Orvieto V = Veii
Tomb Painting Other Etruscan Painting
Ch = Chiusi T = Tarquinia
700
Italo-Geometric vases
Orientalizing Period
T. of the Ducks (V); T. of the Dogtooth Frieze (C);

Mengarelli T. (C)
650
T. of the Painted Animals I (C); Painted roof terracottas from Acquarossa and Murlo (1st palace)
T. of the Painted Lions (C); T. of the Ship I (C)
620–550: Etrusco-Corinthian vases

Painted T. (Magliano in Toscana) Swallow Painter in Vulci
600 Campana T. (V);

T. of the Panthers (T);
T. of the Hut (T); T. of the Marchese (T)

Painted Caeretan Boccanera plaques
Archaic Period
550 T. of the Red Lions (T); T. of the Bulls (T); T. of the Tritons (T); Bartoccini T.
(T); T. of the Mouse (T); T. of the Frontoncino (T); T. of the Augurs (T); T. of Pontic vases
the Inscriptions (T); T. of the Lionesses (T); T. of the Jugglers (T); T. of the Painted Caeretan Campana plaques
Olympic Games (T); T. of the Dead Man (T); T. of Hunting and Fishing (T); Caeretan hydriae
T. of the Pulcinella (T); T. of the Baron (T); T. of the Bacchantes (T); Cardarelli Campana vases
T. (T); T. of the Hunter (T)
Micali Painter
500 T. of the Painted Vases (T); T. of the Old Man (T); T. of the Whipping (T.); Painted clay plaques from Veii-Portonaccio
T. 5591 (T); T. of the Bigas (T) Painted urns from Tarquinia
Sub-Archaic
Period
T. of the Monkey (C); T. of the Leopards (T); Beginning of Etruscan red-figure vase painting
T. of the Triclinium (T); T. of the Casuccini Hill (C) Praxias Group
450 T. of the Funerary Bed (T); End of Etruscan black-figure vase painting
F. Giustiniani T. (T); T. 5513 (T);
T. of the Black Sow (T); T. of the Deer Hunt (T); Maggi T. (T);
T. of the Ship (T)
“Classical” Interim Period
T. of the Maiden (T); T. of the Blue Demons (T);

T. of the Cock (T); T. 3713 (T)
400 T. of the Gorgoneion (T); T. 808 (T); T. of the Pygmies (T);
T. 2327 (T); T. 3242 (T); T. 3697 (T); 4th century: Faliscan red-figure vase painting
T. of the Warrior (T)
T. of Orcus I (T) Faliscan red-figure Aurora Krater
350 Amazon Sarcophagus from Tarquinia

Golini T. I (O); Golini T. II (O); 2nd half of the 4th century: Etruscan red-figure vases in Cerveteri, Tarquinia,
François T. (Vulci); T. of the Shields (T); Vulci, Orvieto, Chiusi, and Volterra
Sarcophagus of the Priest from Tarquinia
T. of Orcus II (T); T. of the Reliefs (C); T. of the Infernal Quadriga (Sarteano);
Giglioli T. (T) Painted clay plaques from Falerii Veteres
300
T. of the Cardinal (T; 1st phase); Pocola vases
T. of the Inscriptions (C); Hesse Painter
T. of the Garlands (T) Ceramica argentata
Black-glaze pottery
T. of the Anina Family (T);
250 T. of the Charuns (T); Bruschi T. (T)
Tassinaia T. (C); T. of the Typhon (T); T. 5512 (T); T. 5636

Hellenistic Period
T. of the Meeting (T)
200
Painted urns from Chiusi and Volterra
150
100
306 CHRONOLOGY
Other Monuments of Etruscan Art Historical Events
700 7th and 6th century: Chiusan canopic jars Introduction of Etruscan script
Beginning of Etruscan chamber tomb architecture (Cerveteri, Populonia)

Orientalizing Period
Gold jewelry and bronze articles from Cerveteri and Praeneste (princes’ tombs)
650 Beginning of large Etruscan sculpture (Cerveteri)
Emigration of Demaratos from Corinth to Tarquinia
Mid-7th to beginning of the 5th century: Bucchero pottery Beginning of the Etruscan thalassocracy
Tumulo del Carro in Populonia
Montagnola Tomb in Quinto Fiorentino Beginning of Etruscan influence in Campania and Etruscan kingship
Ivory pyxis from Chiusi (Pania Tomb) in Rome
600 Nenfro Centaur from Vulci
6th century: political, economic, and cultural flowering of Tyrrhenian Etruria
Tomb of the Shields and Seats in Cerveteri and emporia like Gravisca and Pyrgi
“Step-stones” from Tarquinia
Roof terracottas from Murlo (2nd palace)
Hippocampus rider from Vulci
Archaic Period
550 540: victory of the Etruscan and Phoenician fleet against the Phocaeans in the
Grave stele of Avle Tite from Volterra Battle of Alalia (Corsica)
“Loeb” bronze tripods
Rock tombs in Blera, San Giuliano, and Tuscania
Terracotta husband-and-wife sarcophagi from Cerveteri
Beginning of Etruscan colonization of the southeastern Po plain
Terracotta sculptures from the Portonaccio temple in Veii (Vulca of Veii) 509: end of the Tarquin kingship in Rome
500 Chiusan urn and cippus reliefs Thefarie Veltanas “king” of Caere
Small bronzes from Vulci Etrusco-Phoenician cult community in Pyrgi
Sub-Archaic
Roof terracottas from temples in Falerii, Arezzo, and Satricum

Period
The Capitoline bronze she-wolf 474: Syracusan defeat of the Etruscans in the sea battle off Cumae: political and
economic crisis in Etruria’s coastal cities
450 Terracotta high relief from Temple A in Pyrgi 453: Syracusan plundering in Corsica and Elba
430: Death of Lars Tolumnius, King of Veii, in battle with Rome
Bronze candelabrum from Cortona
423: Capture of Capua by the Samnites: ultimate loss of Campania
“Classical” Interim Period
Mater Matuta — tomb statue from Chianciano, near Chiusi 415/413: Contingent of Tarquinian ships supports the Athenians
Terracotta figures from the Belvedere and S. Leonardo temples in Orvieto against Syracuse
400 The Mars of Todi, bronze statue (Orvietan workshop)

Bronze Chimaera from Arezzo 396: Conquest and destruction of Veii by the Romans; Gaulish incursion into
Italy; loss of Etruria Padana
384/383: Syracusans plunder Pyrgi
353: Caere is defeated by Rome
351: Tarquinia is defeated by Rome; 40-year truce
350
Cista Ficoroni from Praeneste
Terracotta high relief with winged horses from the Ara della Regina temple in
Tarquinia From 311: Resumption of conflict between Rome and the Etruscan cities
308: Subjection of Tarquinia
Roof terracottas from the Scasato temple in Falerii (Apollo of Falerii) 302/301: Social unrest in Arezzo
300 295: Roman victory near Sentinum against Etruscans, Gauls, Samnites,
Umbrians
End of the 4th to 2nd century: Tarquinian stone sarcophagi
294: Destruction of Roselle
3rd to beginning of the 1st century: urns from Volterra, Chiusi, and Perugia in 280: Vulci falls
alabaster, limestone, and terracotta, some with relief 273: Founding of the Latin colony of Cosa
250 265: Destruction of Volsinii Veteres (Orvieto); founding of Volsinii Novi on
Lake Bolsena
3rd century: rock-facade tombs in Norchia, Castel d’Asso, and Sovana 241: Destruction of Falerii Veteres; founding of Falerii Novi
Hellenistic Period
3rd–2nd centuries: anatomical votive terracottas in South Etruria 225: Victory of Romans and Etruscans over the Gauls near Talamone
3rd–2nd centuries: round-arch gates in Volterra, Perugia, and Falerii Novi 218–202: Second Punic War; a number of Etruscans support Hannibal
200
2nd century: barrel-vaulted tombs in Chiusi, Perugia, and Cortona 196: Slave revolt in Etruria
Tomb of the Volumnii near Perugia
Economic flowering of the North Etrurian cities (Volterra, Arezzo, Perugia)
Terracotta gable from Talamone
Increasing Romanization
150 Terracotta gable from Civitalba
Terracotta sarcophagi from Tuscania
The Arringatore, bronze statue from Lake Trasimene

100
89: After the Social War, all Etruscans and Italics receive Roman citizenship
CHRONOLOGY 307
Register of Painted Etruscan Tombs
Tomb Italian Name Location Discovered Chronology
TARQUINIA
Alsina Family Tomba degli Alsina Former Bruschi estate 1873 2nd century ..
Anina Family (5051) Tomba degli Anina Fondo Scataglini 1963 3rd century ..
Antelopes (199) Tomba delle Antilope Secondi Archi 1958 500 ..
Augurs Tomba degli Auguri Secondi Archi 1878 520 ..
Bacchantes Tomba dei Baccanti Calvario 1874 510–500 ..
Baron Tomba del Barone Secondi Archi 1827 510–500 ..
Bartoccini (905) Tomba Bartoccini Calvario 1959 520 ..
Bertazzoni (2327) Tomba Bertazzoni Secondi Archi 1960 beg. 4th century ..
Biclinium Tomba del Biclinio 18th c. third quarter 5th cent. ..
Bigas Tomba delle Bighe Secondi Archi 1827 490 ..
Black Sow (578) Tomba della Scrofa nera Secondi Archi 1842 mid-5th century ..
Blue Demons Tomba dei Demoni Azzuri Calvario 1985 end 5th century ..
Bronze Door Tomba della Porta di Bronzo Arcatelle 1873 500 ..
Bruschi Tomba Bruschi Former Bruschi estate 1864 first half 3rd cent. ..
Bulls Tomba dei Tori Secondi Archi 1892 530 ..
Cardarelli (809) Tomba Cardarelli Calvario 1959 510–500 ..
Cardinal Tomba del Cardinale Primi Archi 1699 first half 3rd century ..
Ceisinie Tomba Ceisinie 1736 mid-4th century ..
Charuns (1868) Tomba dei Caronti Calvario 1960 second quarter 3rd century ..
Cock (3226) Tomba del Gallo Secondi Archi 1961 400 ..
Dancing Priests Tomba dei Sacerdoti danzanti Pisciarello 18th c. Hellenistic
(or Tomba Guasta)
Dead Man Tomba del Morto Calvario 1832 510 ..
Deer Hunt (1590) Tomba della Caccia al Cervo Calvario 1960 mid-third qtr. 5th cent. ..
Dionisios and the Sileni Tomba con Dioniso e Sileni Arcatelle 1881 520–510 ..
Doors and Felines Tomba con Porte e Felini Arcatelle 1883 530–520 ..
Double (812) Tomba Doppia Calvario 1959 Hellenistic
Dying Tomba del Morente Secondi Archi 1872 500 ..
Eizene Tomba degli Eizene 1874 3rd century ..
Feline’s Paw Tomba con Zampo di Felino Cimitero 1943 530–520 ..
Francesca Giustiniani Tomba Francesca Giustiniani Secondi Archi 1833 mid- to third qtr. 5th century ..
Frontoncino (2002) Tomba del Frontoncino Secondi Archi 1960 510–500 ..
Funerary Bed Tomba del Letto funebre Calvario 1873 460 ..
Garlands Tomba dei Festoni Fondo Scataglini 1919 270 ..
Giglioli (1072) Tomba Giglioli Secondi Archi 1959 300 ..
Gorgoneion (1825) Tomba del Gorgoneion Calvario 1960 beg. 4th century ..
Heads of Charun Tomba con Testi di Charun 1833 Hellenistic
Hunter (3700) Tomba del Cacciatore Calvario 1962 510–500 ..
Hunting and Fishing Tomba della Caccia e Pesca Calvario 1873 510 ..
Hut (139) Tomba della Capanna Secondi Archi 1958 second qtr. – mid-6th cent. ..
Inscriptions Tomba delle Iscrizioni Secondi Archi 1827 520 ..
Jade Lions (323) Tomba dei Leone di Giada Secondi Archi 1958 530–520 ..
Jugglers (2437) Tomba dei Giocolieri Calvario 1961 520–510 ..
Kithara Player Tomba del Citaredo Arcatelle 1862 490–480 ..
Labrouste Tomba Labrouste 1825 530 ..
308 REGISTER OF PAINTED ETRUSCAN TOMBS

Leopards Tomba dei Leopardi Calvario 1875 480 ..

Lionesses Tomba delle Leonesse Calvario 1874 520 ..
Lions Tomba dei Leoni Secondi Archi 1825 520 ..
Little Flowers (1695) Tomba dei Fiorellini Calvario 1960 second qtr.–mid-5th cent. ..
Lotus Flower (3698) Tomba del Fiore di Loto Calvario 1962 520 ..
Maggi (5187) Tomba Maggi Fondo Maggi 1958 mid-third qtr. 5th century ..
Maiden Tomba della Pulcella Calvario 1865 end 5th century ..
Marchese Tomba del Marchese Arcatelle 1942 second qtr.–mid-6th cent. ..
Master of the Olympic Games Tomba del Maestro delle Olimpiadi Villa Tarantola 1961 500 ..
Meeting Tomba del Convengo Arcatelle 1970 first half 3rd century ..
Mercareccia Tomba della Mercareccia Mercareccia 1735 end 4th–beg. 3rd century ..
Mouse (494) Tomba del Topolino Arcatelle 1881 520 ..
Old Man Tomba del Vecchio Cimitero 1867 500 ..
Olympic Games (53) Tomba delle Olimpiadi Secondi Archi 1958 510 ..
Orcus I, II, III Tomba dell’Orco I II, III Cimitero 1868 second third 4th cent. ..
Painted Vases Tomba dei Vasi dipinti Cimitero 1867 500 ..
Panthers Tomba delle Pantere Secondi Archi 1968 beginning 6th cent. ..
Pilaster & Female Figure Tomba con Pilastro e Figura di Donna Calvario 1832 mid-4th century ..
Procession of Cybele Tomba con Processione di Cibele 1738 Hellenistic
Pulcinella Tomba della Pulcinella Secondi Archi 1872 510 ..
Pulena Tomba Pulena Secondi Archi 1878 end 3rd century ..
Pygmies (2957) Tomba dei Pigmei Secondi Archi 1958 beginning 4th cent. ..
Pyrrhicist Tomba dei Pirrichisti Secondi Archi 1878 500–490 ..
Querciola I Tomba Querciola I Villa Tarantola 1831 end 5th century ..
Querciola II Tomba Querciola II (Tomba degli Ane) Villa Tarantola 1832 second half 3rd cent. ..
Red Lions (389) Tomba dei Leoni rossi Secondi Archi 1958 530 ..
Saplings and Wreaths Tomba con Alberelli e Corone Secondi Archi 1882 (?) 520 ..
Sculptures (4822) Tomba delle Sculture Villa Tarantola 1958 3rd century ..
Sea Tomba del Mare Secondi Archi 1825 520 ..
Shields Tomba degli Scudi Primi Archi 1870 third qtr. 4th century ..
Ship (238) Tomba della Nave Secondi Archi 1958 mid-third qtr. 5th cent. ..
Skull (300) Tomba del Teschio Secondi Archi 1871 480 ..
Spitu Family (4873) Tomba degli Spitu Fondo Scataglini 1963 end 3rd century ..
Stefani Tomba Stefani Villa Tarantola 1833 520 ..
Street Side Tomba del Lato Strada Fondo Scataglini 1963 Hellenistic
Tapestry Tomba della Tappezzeria 18th c. end 4th–beg. 3rd cent. ..
Tarantola Tomba Tarantola Villa Tarantola 1904 520 ..
Tartaglia Tomba Tartaglia Former Tartaglia estate 1699 3rd century ..
Triclinium Tomba del Triclinio Calvario 1830 470 ..
Tritons (2711) Tomba dei Tritoni Secondi Archi 1961 520 ..
Typhon Tomba del Tifone Calvario 1832 end 3rd century ..
Vestarcnie Family Tomba dei Vestarcnie 1876 Hellenistic
Warrior (3243) Tomba del Guerriero Calvario 1961 first half 4th century ..
Whipping (1701) Tomba della Fustigazione Calvario 1960 490 ..
With Ship Tomba con Nave 1831 Hellenistic
Woman with Diadem and Cymbals Tomba con Donna con Diadema, Cimbali, Uomo su Elefante 1831 3rd century ..
343 Secondi Archi 1958 530 ..
352 Secondi Archi 1958 530–520 ..
356 Secondi Archi 1958 530–520 ..
808 Calvario 1959 beg. 4th century ..
810 Calvario 1959 third qtr. 5th cent. ..
939 Secondi Archi 1959 530 ..
994 Secondi Archi 1833 second half 5th cent. ..
1000 Secondi Archi 1959 end 6th century ..
1144 Arcatelle 1959 first half 4th cent. ..
1200 Secondi Archi 1959 beg. 4th century ..
1646 Secondi Archi 1960 530 ..
REGISTER OF PAINTED ETRUSCAN TOMBS 309

1822 Calvario 1960 first half 4th cent. ..

1999 Secondi Archi 1960 510–500 ..
2015 Secondi Archi 1960 second half 5th cent. ..
3010 Secondi Archi 1961 520 ..
3011 Secondi Archi 1961 530–520 ..
3098 Secondi Archi 1961 510 ..
3242 (burial niches) Calvario 1961 beg. 4th century ..
3986 Calvario 1962 520 ..
3988 Calvario 1962 second qtr.–mid-5th cent. ..
4021 Calvario 1962 second qtr.–mid-5th cent. ..
4170 Calvario 1962 mid- to third qtr. 5th cent. ..
4255 Calvario 1962 480 ..
4780 Fondo Scataglini 1963 500 ..
4813 Arcatelle 1963 beg. 5th century ..
4912 (Anina side) Fondo Scataglini 1963 3rd century ..
5039 Fondo Scataglini 1963 520–510 ..
5512 (Double) Calvario 1967 second half 3rd cent. ..
5513 (or near Little Flowers) Calvario 1967 mid-5th century ..
5517 Calvario 1967 second half 5th century ..
5591 (or behind Cardarelli) Calvario 1968 500–490 ..
5636 Calvario 1969 second half 3rd cent ..
5892 Cimitero 1969 third qtr. 6th cent. ..
5898 (or with Small Tomba con Coroncine (or delle Corone) Cimitero 1881 510 ..
Wreaths or of Wreaths)
5899 Cimitero 1969 third qtr. 6th cent. ..
6071 1969 beg. 4th cent. ..
6119 Cimitero 1980 end 6th cent. ..
6120 Arcatelle 1980 second qtr.–mid-6th cent. ..
BLERA
Painted Grotto I Tomba della Grotta dipinta I Pian Gagliardo 19th c. first half 4th cent. ..
Painted Grotto II Tomba della Grotta dipinta II Pian Gagliardo 1965 first half 4th cent. ..
BOMARZO
Painted Grotto Tomba della Grotta dipinta Pianmiano before 1832
CERVETERI
Clay Tomba dell’Argilla Banditaccia end 6th century ..
Dogtooth Frieze (Wolf ’s Teeth) Tomba dei Denti di Lupo Banditaccia mid-third qtr. 7th cent. ..
Inscriptions (or of Tomba dei Inscrizioni
the Tarquinii) (Grotta Tarquinii) Banditaccia 1845 first half 3rd cent ..
Mengarelli Tomba Mengarelli Banditaccia second qtr. 7th cent. ..
Painted Animals I Tomba dei Animali dipinti Banditaccia 1834 third qtr. 7th cent. ..
Painted Lions Tomba dei Leoni dipinti Banditaccia 1834 third qtr. 7th cent. ..
Reliefs Tomba dei Rilievi Banditaccia 1847 end 4th century ..
Sarcophagi Tomba dei Sarcophagi Banditaccia 1st half 19th c. end 4th century ..
Sea Waves Tomba delle Onde marine Banditaccia 1970 end 4th–beg. 3rd cent ..
Ship I Tomba della Nave I Banditaccia before 1927 third qtr. 7th cent. ..
Sorbo Tomba del Sorbo Sorbo 1970 second qtr. 7th cent. ..
Triclinium Tomba del Triclinio Banditaccia 1846 end 4th century ..
CHIUSI
Casuccini Hill Tomba del Colle Casuccini Colle 1833 second qtr. 5th cent. ..
Hill of the Moro (or Tomba del Poggio al Moro Poggio al Moro 1826 second qtr. 5th cent. ..
of the Gods) (or degli Dei)
Hunt Tomba della Caccia Poggio Renzo 1846 first qtr. 5th cent. ..
310 REGISTER OF PAINTED ETRUSCAN TOMBS

Martinella Tomba di Martinella Martinella ca. 1876 Hellenistic

Monkey Tomba della Scimmia Poggio Renzo 1846 480 ..
Montollo Tomba Montollo Montollo 1734 first qtr. 5th cent. ..
Orientalizing Style Tomba di Stilo orientalizzante Poggio Renzo 1874 end 7th cent. ..
Orpheus & Euridice Tomba di Orfeo e Euridice Poggio Le Case 1846 480–470 ..
(or of Houses) (or delle Case)
Paccianesi (or Bishop’s) Tomba dei Paccianesi, Poggio Paccianesi 1st half 19th c. prob. late-archaic
Tomba del Vescovo
Pania Tomba Pania Pania 1874 end 7th cent. ..
Paolozzi Tomba Paolozzi Bagnolo 2nd half 19th c. second qtr. 5th cent. ..
Poggio Gaiella Tomba del Poggio Gaiella Poggio Gaiella 1840 first half 5th cent. ..
Tassinaia Tomba di Tassinaia Colle 1866 mid-3rd cent. ..
Well Tomba del Pozzo a Poggio Renzo Poggio Renzo 1892 (?) first qtr. 5th cent. ..
COSA-ANSEDONIA
Painted Tomb Tomba Dipinta northeast of Cosa 1870 end 7th–beg. 6th cent. .. (?)
GROTTE SANTO STEFANO

Painted Tomb Tomba Dipinta southwest of Casa Bovani beg. 20th c. mid-5th century ..
MAGLIANO IN TOSCANA
Painted Grotto
(or of the Gods) Grotta Dipinta (or degli Dei) Le Ficaie 1835 around 600 ..
Sant’Andrea Tomba Sant’Andrea Cancellone 1984 end 7th century ..
ORTE
Painted Tomb Tomba Dipinta Capuccini
ORVIETO
Golini I (or of the Sails) Tomba Golini I (or dei Velii) Poggio del Roccolo 1863 mid-4th century ..
di Settecamini
Golini II (or of Two Bigas) Tomba Golini II (or delle Due Bighe) Poggio del Roccolo 1863 third qtr. 4th cent. ..
di Settecamini
Hescanas Tomba degli Hescanas Molinella near Castel Rubello 1883 last qtr. 4th cent. ..
POPULONIA
Wave Frieze Tomba del Corridietro Le Grotte before 1973 beg. 3rd cent ..
Dolphins Tomba dei Delfini Le Grotte before 1973 beg. 3rd cent ..
SAN GIULIANO
Cima Tomba Cima Chiusa Cima third qtr. 7th cent. ..
SARTEANO
13 Palazzina 1998 (?) beg. 5th cent. ..
Infernal Quadriga Tomba della Quadriga infernale Pianezze 2003 last qtr. 4th cent. ..
TUSCANIA
Queen Tomba della Regina Madonna dell’Olivo 1st half 19th c. Hellenistic
VEIO
Campana Tomba Campana Monte Michele 1842–1843 end 7th cent. ..
Ducks Tomba delle Anatre Riserva del Bagno 1958 second qtr. 7th cent. ..
VULCI
Campanari Tomba Campanari near Ponte della Badia 1833 3rd century ..
Dolphins Tomba dei Delfini Ponte Rotto 1857 3rd century ..
François Tomba François Ponte Rotto 1857 third qtr. 4th cent. ..
REGISTER OF PAINTED ETRUSCAN TOMBS 311

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
Tarquinian Tombs: Beginning of the sixth century–first half of the fourth century ..
1. Tomb of the Panthers 17. Tomb of the Lotus Flower 33. Cardarelli Tomb 49. Tomb of the Black Sow
2. Tomb of the Hut 18. Tomb of the Mouse 34. Tomb  50. Tomb of the Cock
3. Tomb of the Marchese 19. Tomb of the Dead Man 35. Tomb of the Whipping 51. Tomb 
4. Tomb of the Red Lions 20. Tomb of the Olympic Games 36. Tomb of the Skull 52. Tomb of the Maiden
5. Tomb  21. Tomb of the Pulcinella 37. Tomb of the Bigas 53. Tomb 
6. Tomb  22. Tomb of the Lionesses 38. Tomb of the Leopards 54. Tomb 
7. Labrouste Tomb 23. Tomb  39. Tomb of the Triclinium 55. Tomb of the Gorgoneion
8. Tomb of the Tritons 24. Tomb of Hunting and Fishing 40. Tomb of the Funerary Bed 56. Tomb 
9. Tomb of the Jade Lions 25. Tomb of the Jugglers 41. Tomb of the Little Flowers 57. Tomb 
10. Tomb of the Bulls 26. Tomb of the Baron 42. Tomb  58. Querciola Tomb I
11. Tomb of the Sea 27. Tomb of the Frontoncino 43. Francesca Giustiniani Tomb 59. Tomb 
12. Tomb of the Hunter 28. Tomb of the Olympic Games 44. Tomb  60. Tomb 
13. Stefani Tomb 29. Tomb of the Old Man 45. Tomb  61. Tomb 
14. Tarantola Tomb 30. Tomb of the Painted Vases 46. Tomb of the Deer Hunt 62. Tomb of the Warrior
15. Bartoccini Tomb 31. Tomb  47. Maggi Tomb 63. Tomb of the Pygmies
16. Tomb of the Augurs 32. Tomb of the Banquet 48. Tomb of the Ship 64. Tomb of Orcus I
312 TARQUINIAN TOMBS

65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
73 74 76 77 78 80 81
75
79
86
85
82 83 84 87 88 89
92
90 91 93 94 95 96
Tarquinian Tombs (second half of the fourth century–third century ..)and Tombs
from Other Etruscan Sites (first half seventh century–third century ..)
65. Painted Grotto I 73. Tomb of the Triclinium, Cerveteri 81. Tomb, Painted Grotto, Magliano in 89. Tomb of the Garlands, Tarquinia
66. Tomb of the Painted Animals I, 74. Tomb of the Casuccini Hill, Toscana 90. Giglioli Tomb, Tarquinia
Cerveteri Chiusi 82. Golini Tomb I, Orvieto 91. Tomb of Orcus I, II, III, Tarquinia
67. Tomb of the Clay, Cerveteri 75. Tomb of the Snare, Chiusi 83. Golini Tomb II, Orvieto 92. Tomb of the Shields, Tarquinia
68. Tomb of the Inscriptions, Cerveteri 76. Tomb of Poggio Gaiella, Chiusi 84. Tomb of the Hescanas, Orvieto 93. Tomb of the Typhon, Tarquinia
69. Tomb of the Painted Lions, 77. Tomb of the Well at Poggio Renzo, 85. Tomb of the Anina Family, 94. Tomb of the Ducks, Veii
Cerveteri Chiusi Tarquinia 95. Campana Tomb, Veii
70. Tomb of the Ship I, Cerveteri 78. Tomb of the Monkey, Chiusi 86. Tomb of the Cardinal, Tarquinia 96. François Tomb, Vulci
71. Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri 79. Tassinaia Tomb, Chiusi 87. Tomb of the Charuns, Tarquinia
72. Tomb of the Sarcophagi, Cerveteri 80. Painted Tomb, Grotte San Stefano 88. Tomb of the Meeting, Tarquinia
TARQUINIAN TOMBS 313

Glossary
a macchia: a painting technique using flecks of biga: two-horse chariot, generally used in dokana: two parallel beams, symbol of the Dioscuri
paint for subtle coloration and shading ceremonial contexts or races
Doric-style door (porta dorica): door that narrows
aes grave: the earliest minted Italic bronze coin bucchero: typical Etruscan black pottery of the 7th toward the top and is framed, found especially in
(ca. 300 ..) and 6th centuries Etruscan tomb architecture
aes signatum: cast rectangular metal bar, precursor bucranium (pl. bucrania): ornament shaped like an dromos: corridor, generally in front of a tomb
to the aes grave ox’s skull, with ribbons or garlands entrance
akroama (pl. akroamata): juggling and acrobatic calcei repandi: shoes with upturned toes common in ekphorà: funeral procession
performances Etruria mainly in the Archaic period
elogion (pl. elogia): saying, commemorative
akroterion: decorative element crowning the ridge camthi: Etruscan magistrate inscription
or corner of a temple gable
capite velato: with head veiled emporium (pl. emporia): port, trading center
alabastron (pl. alabastra): small salve or perfume
capsa: small chest or book case epichrosai: application of color
vessel of the Greek type
cardiophylax: ancient Italic disk-shaped armor to episemon (pl. episemata): coat of arms, shield
Amazonomachy: a battle between men and
protect the heart and chest emblem
Amazons, depicted in Greek painting
cassone tomb: stone chest tomb fasces: bundle of rods with axe
andron (pl. andrones): men’s chamber
cechase: Etruscan magistrate or priest fatum: prophecy, fate
antefix: decorative terracotta tile at the edge of
a roof cepen: Etruscan priest fictor (pl. fictores): sculptor, worker in clay
antepagmentum (pl. antepagmenta): terracotta relief chimaera: a fabulous beast, part lion, part goat flagellum: slingshot
ornament on the end of the ridge beam in an chitoniskos pyrgotos: small chiton (undergarment) fossa: coffin-shaped tomb, in Etruria generally
Etruscan temple with a crenellation design hollowed out of rock
apa(stanar): Etruscan for “father,” “ancestor” chora: surrounding country, sphere of influence funus triumphalis: triumphal funeral procession
apobates: armed Greek warrior springing down choros: sacred dance gens (pl. gentes): family, noble race
from a moving chariot
chrosai: application of color gens nova: nouveau-riche, social-climbing family
apochrosai: application of pigment for shading
cippus (pl. cippi): tomb marker, generally aniconic Genucilia: typical red-figure pottery (mostly plates)
apparitor (pl. apparitore): official, servant and in stone produced in Caere and Falerii in the early
Arenaria: type of sandstone Hellenistic Period
columen: main longitudinal roof beam
aretè: virtue Geranomachy: a battle between cranes and pygmies,
cornicines: horn blowers
depicted in Greek painting
artifex: artist, master coroplasty: terracotta sculpture, mainly for
Geranos: crane dance or dance of the labyrinth
aryballos (p. aryballoi): small Greek salve or architectural ornament
perfume vessel Gorgoneion: head of the Gorgon/Medusa
cucullus: cap
askos (pl. askoi): Greek pouring vessel heptachord: seven-stringed lyre
cursus honorum: curriculum vitae listing offices and
athyrma (pl. athryrmata): plaything, luxury object honorary titles hetaira (pl. hetairai): (female) companion,
courtesan
atrium displuviatum: Roman atrium type described cyma (Gr. kyma): double-curved molding
by Vitruvius hetaireia (pl. hetaireiai): a band of upper-class
cymatium (pl. cymatia; Gr. kymation): ornamental
companions who meet for drinking and/or politics
aulos: double flute crown molding
hetairos (pl. hetairoi): (male) companion
avus: grandfather, ancestor deductio ad inferos: journey into the netherworld
himation: loose Greek outer garment
balaneion: bath despotes theron: lord/master of beasts
holmos (pl. holmoi): saucer, stand
balsamarium (pl. balsmaria): small vessel, often of dextrarum iunctio: clasp of hands between two men
glass paste, for unguents or perfume homines novi: social climber, nouveau riche
dinos (pl. dinoi): Greek vessel, a deep bowl without
handles hypographè: outline, design
314 GLOSSARY
hypotyposis: design, model marunuc spurana: Etruscan magistrate purth: Etruscan magistrate
ianitor (pl. ianitores): gatekeeper matrona: married woman, mature woman pyrgoton: tower-, crenellation-shaped
imperium militiae: military force nacnvaiasi: Etruscan for “ancestors” pyxis (pl. pyxides): lidded Greek vessel
ius imaginum: the right to display ancestral naiskos (pl. naiskoi): small temple, generally reditus: return
portraits in the atrium of a Roman house funerary in nature
res gestae: deeds, military exploits
Kabeiric: of or relating to the secretive cult of the nekyia: Hades landscape
rhyton (pl. rhytoi): drinking horn
Kabeiroi
nobilitas: nobility
sacculus: sack, money bag
kalpe: Greek riding contest
oikos: house, home
sacnisa: Etruscan for “sacrifice”
kelebe (pl. kelebaie): column- or stem-krater type
oinochoe (pl. oinochoae): single-handled Greek
found mainly in Volterra sella curulis: folding chair taken over from Etruria
wine jar
by the Romans, reserved for certain officials and
ketos (pl. kete): sea monster
olla (pl. ollae): wide-mouthed vessel of any material judges
kithara: stringed instrument with a wooden
olpe (pl. olpae): single-handled Corinthian jar sema: tomb marker, monument
sounding board
omonoia: harmony skiagraphè: shading in painting
kline: bed, couch
oppidum: fortified settlement skyphos (pl. skyphoi): two-handled vessel of Greek
komos: cheerful procession of revelers, dancers, and
origin
musicians with Dionysian overtones opus caementicium: concretelike Roman masonry of
mortar and rough stone stele: grave stone, tomb relief
kore (pl. korai): young woman, girl (figure)
opus craticium: an inexpensive building technique symplegma: coitus
kottabos: a drinking game that involves flicking
using wooden frames filled with crushed rock fused
wine at a target tabula: panel, plaque
with lime and mud
kouros (pl. kouroi): young man, youth (figure) taenia: ribbon, festoon
opus polygonalis: polygonal masonry without
krepis: raised base of stones mortar tanasa(r): Etruscan for “actor” or “ritual performer”
kyathos (pl. kyathoi): single-handled Greek drinking opus quadratum: regular masonry of rectangular terra sigillata: typical coral-red Roman pottery,
vessel blocks without mortar often ornamented with relief
kylikeion (pl. kylikeia): small drinks table ordo equestris: knightly rank tevarath: Etruscan for “arbiter” (?)
kylix (pl. kylikes): Greek drinking bowl with a foot paludamentum: military cloak, commander’s cloak thalassocracy: maritime supremacy
and two handles theoxenia: cult meal presented to a god or gods
parentatio: transfer of remains, reburial
lacunaria: roof or ceiling coffers tholos: round structure
patera (pl. paterae): bowl, offering bowl
larnax (pl. larnakes): tomb urn thymiaterion: incense burner, stand
phaitrynein: application of highlights
lebes (pl. lebetes): large Greek kettle toga picta: colorfully embroidered toga (Roman
Phersu: mask, masked persona
lectisternium: ceremonial banquet for the gods garment)
phlyax: comic actor
lekythos (pl. lekythoi): Greek-Attic single-handled toga praetexta: Roman garment edged in purple,
pictor: painter
vessel used in the cult of the dead probably of Etruscan origin
pilos: pointed hat typically worn by the Dioscuri
lesene: pilaster strip togatus (pl. togati): man wearing a white toga
pinakes leleukomenoi: painted panels of wood
leukoma (pl. leukomata): stuccoed and/or painted tutulus (pl. tutuli): typical Etruscan conical hat,
or clay
plaques of wood or clay seen especially in the Archaic Period
pinax (pl. pinakes): painting on wood panel
liber linteus: linen book common in Etruria viator: official messenger
pithos (pl. pithoi): large clay storage vessel
liticines: trumpet players zilath cechaneri: Etruscan magistrate
plasta: clay sculptor
lituus (pl. litui): curved staff, a symbol of authority; zilath mechl rasnal: high Etruscan magistrate
trumpetlike instrument poculum: Early Hellenistic vessel type in Latium roughly corresponding to the Roman praetor
Etruriae
loculus (pl. loculi): wall niche, generally holding a porta dorica. See Doric-style door
burial zilath: Etruscan magistrate
potnia theron: mistress of beasts (Eastern motif)
ludi athletarum: athletic games potnios theron: lord/master of beasts (Eastern
ludi circenses: circus games motif)
lumen: light praetor Etruriae: Roman office
lunula: crescent moon processus triumphalis: triumphal procession
machaira: type of knife with a slight curve prothesis: the laying out of the deceased on a bier
mantica: wallet or satchel psychopompos (pl. psychopompoi): one who guides

the souls of the dead into the underworld
maru: Etruscan magistrate
GLOSSARY 315
Bibliography
The bibliography is organized as follows: Conducted in San Giovenale and Its Environs by Hall, J. Etruscan Italy: Etruscan Influences on the
1. General works on Etruscan art, culture, archaeol- Members of the Swedish Institute in Rome (New Civilizations of Italy from Antiquity to the Modern
ogy, and topography York, 1963). Era (Provo, UT, 1996).
2. Exhibition catalogues Boethius, A., and J. Ward Perkins, Etruscan and Haynes, S., Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History
3. Works on Etruscan tomb painting Roman Architecture (Harmondsworth, 1970). (Los Angeles, 2000).
4. Works on other types of Etruscan painting and Boitani, F., M. Cataldi, and M. Pasquinucci, Etruscan Heurgon, J., Daily Life of the Etruscans, J. Kirkup,
on Etruscan mosaic Cities, C. Athill, trans. (London, 1975). trans. (1961; London, 2002).
Bonfante, L., Etruscan Dress (Baltimore and Heurgon, J. , Die Etrusker (Stuttgart, 1971).
The bibliography includes works written up to the
London, 1975). Inghirami, F., and D. Valeriani, Etrusco Museo
end of 2005. While parts 1, 2, and 4 give only the
———, Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Chiusino, 2 vols. (Fiesole, 1833).
most important works, part 3 is a comprehensive list
Etruscan Studies (Detroit, 1986). Jannot, J.-R., A la rencontre des Etrusques (Rennes,
of the relevant scholarly literature.
Brendel, O., Etruscan Art (Harmondsworth, 1978). 1987).
The following abbreviations are used: Briquel, D., Les Etrusques. Peuple de la différence ———, Devins, dieux, et demons: regardes sur la
AJA American Journal of Archaeology (Paris, 1993). religion d’Etrurie antique (Paris, 1998).
AnalRom Analecta Romana Instituti Danici Brown, W. L., The Etruscan Lion (Oxford, 1960). ———, Religion in Ancient Etruria, J. Whitehead,
ArchCl Archeologia Classica Camporeale, G., La caccia in Etruria (Rome, 1984). trans. (Madison, WI, 2005).
AW Antike Welt ———, Gli Etruschi. Storia e civiltà (Turin, 2004). Johnstone, M. A., The Dance in Etruria (Florence,
BdA Bollettino d’arte ———, ed., Etruscans Outside Etruria, T. H. 1956).
DArch Dialoghi di Archeologia Hartmann, trans. (Los Angeles, 2004). Macnamara, E., Everyday Life of the Etruscans
JdI Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Canina, L., L’antica Etruria Marittima, 2 vols. (New York, 1987).
Instituts (Rome, 1846–51). Massa-Pairault, F. H., Recherches sur l’art et
MEFRA Mélanges de l’École française de Rome, Cristofani, M., Etruschi - Cultura e Società l’artisanat étrusco-italiques à l’époque
Antiquité (Novara 1978). hellénistique (Rome, 1985).
MonPitt Monumenti della pittura antica scoperta in ———, L’arte degli Etruschi. Produzione e consumo ———, La cité des Etrusques (Paris, 1996).
Italia (Rome, 1937) (Turin, 1978). Menichetti, M., Archeologia del potere: Re,
RM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen ———, The Etruscans: An New Investigation, immagini e miti a Roma e in Etruria in età
Instituts. Römische Abteilung B. Phillips, trans. (London, 1979). arcaica (Milan, 1994).
StEtr Studi Etruschi ———, Gli Etruschi del mare (Milan, 1983). Micali, G., Monumenti inediti a illustrazione della
———, ed., Gli Etruschi in Maremma (Milan, 1981). storia degli antichi popoli italiani (Florence, 1884).
1. General works on Etruscan art, culture, ———, ed., Dizionario della civiltà etrusca Moretti, M., G. Maetzke, M. Gasser, and L. von Matt,
archaeology, and topography (Florence, 1999). Kunst und Land der Etrusker (Zürich, 1969).
Danielsson, OlOf, CIE (Tarquinia), II, I, 3 (1936). Nogara, B., Gli Etruschi e la loro civiltà (Milan, 1933).
Åkerström, Å., Studien über die etruskischen Gräber De Marinis, S., La tipologia del banchetto nell’arte Oleson, J. P., The Sources of Innovation in Later
(Lund, 1934). etrusca arcaica (Rome, 1961). Etruscan Tomb Design (ca. 350–100 ..)
Banti, L., The Etruscan Cities and Their Culture, Dempster, T., De Etruria regali, vols. 1–2 (Florence, (Rome, 1982).
E. Bizzarri, trans. (London, 1973). 1723–24). Pallottino, M., The Etruscans, J. Cremona, trans.
Barker, G., and T. Rasmussen, The Etruscans Dennis, G., The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, 2 (1942; Bloomington, 1975).
(Oxford, 1998). vols. (London, 1848; 1878). Pfrommer, Michael, “Grossgriechischer
Bianchi Bandinelli, R., and A. Giuliano, Etruschi e De Ruyt, F., Charun: Démon étrusque de la mort und mittelitalischer Einfluss in der
Italici prima del dominio di Roma (Milan, 1973); (Rome, 1934). Rankenornamentik Frühellenistischer Zeit,”
Etrusker und Italiker vor der römischen Herrschaft Dohrn, T., Die etruskische Kunst im Zeitalter der JDAI 97 (1982), pp. 119–90.
(Munich, 1974). Klassik. Die Interimsperiode (Mainz, 1982). ———, “Italien – Makedonien – Kleinasien,”
Bianchi Bandinelli, R., and M. Torelli, L’arte Ducati, P., Storia dell’arte etrusca (Milan, 1935). JDAI 98 (1983), pp. 235–85.
dell’antichità classica, Etruria - Roma (Turin, Giglioli, G. Q., L’arte etrusca (Milan, 1935). Potter, T. W., The Changing Landscape of South
1976). Giuntoli, S., La Grande Storia dell’Arte, vol. 16, Arte Etruria (New York, 1979).
Bloch, R., The Etruscans, J. Hogarth, trans. (London, etrusca (Rome, 2003). Prayon, F., Frühetruskische Grab- und
1969). Gori, A. F., Museum etruscum, 3 vols. (Florence, Hausarchitektur, RM 22. Erg.-H. (1975).
Boethius, A., Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture 1737–43). ———, Die Etrusker: Geschichte, Reliogion, Kunst
(Harmondsworth, 1978). Gras, M., Trafics tyrrhéniens archaiques (Munich, 1996).
Boethius, A., et al., Etruscan Culture, Land and (Rome, 1985). Pugliese Carratelli, G., ed., Rasenna. Storia e civiltà
People: Archaeological Research and Studies degli Etruschi (Milan, 1986).
316 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Puma, R. D. de, and J. P. Small, eds., Murlo and the ———, “Les jeux, la chasse et la guerre. La Tombe Bettini, C., “Primi risultati di recenti restauri effet-
Etruscans: Art and Society in Ancient Etruria Querciola I de Tarquinia,” Spectacles sportifs et tuati su tombe dipinte a Veio, Cerveteri e
(Madison, 1994). scéniques dans le monde étrusco-italique. Actes de Tarquinia,” Archeologia nella Tuscia 2, Atti degli
Rallo, A., ed., Le donne in Etruria (Rome, 1989). la table ronde, Rome, 1991 (Rome, 1993), p. 69ff. Incontri di studio organizzati a Viterbo 1984
Spivey, N. J., Etruscan Art (New York, 1997). ———, “Végétation et paysage dans la peinture (Rome, 1986), p. 296ff.
Sprenger, M., and G. Bartoloni, Die Etrusker - Kunst funéraire étrusque,” Nature et paysage dans la Bettini, C., C. Giacobini, and M. Marabelli, “Gli
und Geschichte (Munich, 1977); Etruschi. L’arte pensée et l’environnement des civilisations ipogei dipinti della necropoli di Veio: Indagine
(Milan, 1980). antiques. Actes du colloque de Strasbourg 1992 sullo stato di conservazione e sulle tecniche
Steingräber, S., Etruskische Möbel (Rome, 1979). (Paris, 1996), p. 31ff. pittoriche,” StEtr 45 (1977), p. 239ff.
———, Etrurien - Städte, Heiligtümer, Nekropolen Akerström, A., “The Tomba delle Olimpiadi in Bianchi Bandinelli, R., “Clusium,” Monumenti
(Munich, 1981); Città e necropoli dell’Etruria Tarquinia. Some Problems in Etruscan Tomb Antichi 30 (1925), p. 209ff.
(Rome, 1983). Painting,” Scritti di archeologia ed arte in onore di ———, Clusium. Le pitture delle tombe arcaiche,
Torelli, M., Etruria (Rome and Bari, 1980). C. M. Lerici (Stockholm, 1970), p. 67ff. MonPitt, Clusium 1 (Rome, 1939).
———, Storia degli Etruschi, 2nd ed. (Rome and ———, “Etruscan Tomb Painting: An Art of Many Bigiaretti, L., Etruskische Wandmalerei (Baden-
Bari, 1984). Faces,” Opuscula Romana 13 (1981), p. 7ff. Baden, 1956).
Amann, P., “Die Tomba del Barone. Überlegungen Blanck, H., and G. Proietti, La Tomba dei Rilievi di
2. Exhibition Catalogues
zu einem neuen ikonologischen Verständnis,” Cerveteri (Rome, 1986).
Mostra di pittura etrusca, catalogue by L. Vlad StEtr 64 (1998), p. 71ff. Blanck, H., and C. Weber-Lehmann, eds., Malerei der
Borrelli and M. Cagiano de Azevedo (Florence, Andreae, B., “La Tomba François,” Forma Urbis 9, Etrusker in Zeichnungen des 19. Jahrhunderts
Palazzo Davanzati, June–July 1951). no. 1 (2004), p. 8ff. (Mainz, 1987).
Mostra dell’Arte e della Civiltà Etrusca (Milan, Arias, P. E., “La pittura etrusca. Problemi e metodi Blazquez, J. M., “Representaciones de puertas en la
Palazzo Reale, April–June 1955). della ricerca archeologica,” Secondo Congresso pintura arcaica etrusca,” Cuadros de trabajos de la
Kunst und Leben der Etrusker (Cologne, Römisch- internazionale etrusco, Florence, May 26–June 2, Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueoloía en
Germanisches Museum, April–July 1956). 1985, Atti (Rome, 1989), p. 645ff. Roma 9 (1957), p. 47ff.
Kunst und Kultur der Etrusker (Vienna, Baldasseroni, V., “Gli animali nella pittura etrusca,” ———, “Caballos en el infierno etrusco,” Ampurias
Österreichischer Kunstverein, May–September StEtr 3 (1929), p. 383ff. 19/20 (1957/58), p. 31ff.
1966); Arte e Civiltà degli Etruschi (Turin, Palazzo Balty, J. C., “L’espace dans la peinture funéraire ———, “La Tomba del Cardinale y la influencia
dell’Accademia delle Scienze, 1967). étrusque,” Académie royale de Belgique, Bulletin orfico-pitagorica en las creencias etruscas de
Civiltà degli Etruschi (Florence, Museo de la Classe de beaux-arts 67 (1985), p. 142. ultratumba,” Latomus 24 (1965), 3ff.
Archeologico, May–October 1985). Banti, L., “Problemi della pittura arcaica etrusca. Bonfante, L., “Historical Art: Etruscan and Early
Pittura etrusca. Disegni e documenti del XIX secolo La Tomba dei Tori a Tarquinia,” StEtr 24 Rome,” American Journal of Ancient History 3
dall’archivio dell’Istituto Archeologico Germanico (1955–56), p. 143ff. (1978), p. 136ff.
(Rome, Istituto Archeologico-Germaico, ———, “Disegni di tombe e monumenti etruschi Bovini, G., “La pintura etrusca del periodo
November 1985–February 1986; Tarquinia, fra il 1825 e il 1830: L’architetto Henri Labrouste,” orientalizante (siglos VII y VI a. de J.C.),”
Museo Nazionale, Palazzo Vitelleschi, StEtr 35 (1967), p. 575ff. Ampurias 11 (1949), p. 63ff.
April–September 1986). ———, “Le pitture della Tomba Campana a Veii,” Branzani, L., “Le pitture murali degli Etruschi.
Gli Etruschi di Tarquinia, M. Bonghi Jovino, ed. StEtr 38 (1970), p. 27ff. Osservazioni sulla loro tecnica,” StEtr 7 (1933),
(Milan, Università degli Studi, April–June 1986). Bartoccini, R., “La Tomba delle Olimpiadi nella p. 335ff.
Malerei der Etrusker in Zeichnungen des 19. necropoli etrusca di Tarquinia,” Atti del VII Briguet, M. F., Art étrusque, peintures de Tarquinia
Jahrhunderts: Dokumentation vor der congresso internazionale di archeologia classica, (Paris, 1961).
Photographie aus dem Archiv des Deutschen Rome and Naples, 1958 (Rome, 1961), vol. 2, Bronson, R. C., “Chariot Racing in Etruria,” Studi in
Archäologischen Instituts in Rom (Cologne, p. 177ff. onore di L. Banti (Rome, 1965), p. 89ff.
Römisch-Germanisches Museum, ———, Le pitture etrusche di Tarquinia (Milan, Bulle, H., “Die ‘Malerschule von Tarquinii’,” Kunst
January–April 1987). 1968). und Künstler 20 (1921), p. 379ff.
La Tomba François di Vulci, F. Buranelli, ed. Bartoccini, R., and M. Moretti, “Tomba delle Buranelli, F., “La Tomba del Delfino di Vulci,” BdA 72
(Vatican City, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Olimpiadi,” StEtr 26 (1958), p. 289ff. (1987), n. 41, p. 43ff.
March–May, 1987). Bartoccini, R., C. M. Lerici, and M. Moretti, Byres, J., Hypogaei or Sepulchral Caverns of Tarquinia
Pittura etrusca al Museo di Villa Giulia (Rome, Tarquinia. La Tomba delle Olimpiadi (London, 1842).
Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, 1989). (Milan, 1959). Caffarello, N., “Ermafrodito. Breve nota su di una
Les Etrusques et l’Europe (Paris, Grand Palais, Becatti, G., and F. Magi, Le pitture delle tombe degli figuretta ermafroditica della Tomba delle
September–December 1992; also Milan 1992, Auguri e del Pulcinella, MonPitt 1, nos. 3–4 Leonesse di Tarquinia,” Sileno 7 (1981), no. 1–4,
Berlin 1993). (Rome, 1956). p. 87ff.
Gli Etruschi (Venice, Palazzo Grassi, November– Benassai, R., La pittura dei Campnai e dei Sanniti Cagiano de Azevedo, M., “Alcuni punti oscuri della
July 2000); English catalogue, M. Torelli, ed., (Rome, 2001). nostra critica circa la pittura etrusca del VI e V
The Etruscans (Milan, 2000). ———, “Per una lettura del programma figurativo secolo a.C.,” Archeologia Classica 2 (1950), p. 59ff.
Principi etruschi: tra Mediterraneo ed Europa della Tomba delle Bighe di Tarquinia,” Orizzonti 2 ———, “Saggio su alcuni pittori etruschi,” StEtr 27
(Bologna, Museo Civico Archeologico, (2001), p. 51ff. (1959), p. 79ff.
October–April 2000). ———, “La Tomba delle Bighe a Tarquinia. Campanari, S., Pitture delle grotte Tarquiniensi
Immagine di un aristocratico tarquiniese di V (Rome, 1838).
3. Works on Etruscan tomb painting
secolo a.C.,” La peinture funéraire antique, IV Camporeale, G., “Pittori arcaichi a Tarquinia,” RM 75
Adam, A.-M., “Végétation et paysage dans la siècle av. J.C.–IV siècle ap. J.C., Actes du VIIe (1968), p. 34 ff.
peinture funéraire étrusque,” Ktema 15 (1990), Colloque de AIPMA, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and ———, “Aperture tarquiniesi nella pittura
p. 143ff. Vienna, 1998 (Paris, 2001), p. 243ff. tardoarcaica di Chiusi,” La civiltà di Chiusi e del
BIBLIOGRAPHY 317
suo territorio, Atti del XVII Convegno di Studi ———, “Il banchetto in Etruria,” L’alimentazione nel ———, “Osservazioni cronologiche sulle pitture
Etruschi ed Italici, Chianciano Terme, 1989 mondo antico, vol. 2, Gli Etruschi (Rome, 1987), arcaiche tarquiniesi,” StEtr 13 (1939), p. 203ff.
(Florence, 1993), p. 183ff. p. 123ff. ———, Pittura etrusca, italogreca e romana
———, “Aux origines de la grande peinture Cristofani, M., and F. Zevi, “La Tomba Campana di (Novara, 1942).
étrusque,” Comptes Rendus des séances de Veio. Il corredo,” ArchCl 17 (1965), p. 1ff. ———, Etruskische Malerei (Berlin, 1942).
l’Académie des Inscriptions et belles-lettres D’Agostino, B., “L’immagine, la pittura e la tomba Duell, P., “The Tomba del Triclinio at Tarquinia,”
(1999), p. 277ff. nell’Etruria arcaica,” Prospettiva 32 (1983), p. 2ff.; Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 6
Casson, L., “The Earliest Two-Masted Ship,” also in: Images et sociétés en Grèce ancienne, Actes (1927), p. 5ff.
Archaeology 16 (1963), p. 108ff. du colloque international, Lausanne, February Feruglio, A. E., Porano. Gli Etruschi (Perugia, 1995).
Cataldi, Dini, M., “La Tomba dei Demoni azzurri,” 1984 (Lausanne, 1987), p. 213ff. Gagé, J., “De Tarquinies à Vulci. Les guerres entre
Tarquinia: Ricerche, scavi e prospettive, Atti del ———, “Achille e Troilo: immagini, testi e Rome et Tarquinies au IVe siècle avant J.C. et les
convegno internazional di studi “La Lombardia assonanze,” Annale dell’Instituto universitario fresques de la Tombe François,” MEFRA 74
per gli Etruschi,” Milan, 1986 (Milan, 1987), Orientale di Napoli 7 (1985), p. 1ff. (1962), p. 79ff.
p. 37ff. ———, “La Tomba della Scimmia. Per una lettura Gilotta, F., “‘So we go on, dimness after dimness’.
Cataldi, M., Tarquinia. Guide territoriali dell’Etruria iconografica delle immagini etrusche,” La Civiltà Osservazioni su alcune tombe dipinte di
meridionale (Rome, 1993). di Chiusi e del suo territorio, Atti del XVII Tarquinia,” BdA 96–97 (1996), p. 81ff.
Cavagnaro Vanoni, L., “Rivista di epigrafia etrusca: Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, ———, “Considerazioni su alcuni problemi di
Tarquiniii,” StEtr 30 (1962), p. 284ff. Chianciano Terme, 1989 (Florence, 1993), p. 193ff. pittura etrusca ellenistica,” RM 107 (2000),
———, Tombe tarquiniesi di età ellenistica. Catalogo D’Agostino, B., and L. Cerchiai, Il mare, la morte, p. 177ff.
di ventisei tombe a camera scoperte dall l’amore. Gli Etruschi, i Greci e l’immagine Gilotta, F., ed., Pittura parietale, pittura vascolare.
Fondazione Lerici in Loc. Calvario (Milan, 1996). (Rome, 1999). Ricerche in corso tra Etruria e Campania. Atti
Cerchiai, L., “Alcune osservazioni a proposito della Dasti, L., Le tombe etrusche dipinte di Corneto della giornata di studio, Santa Maria Capua
Tomba dei Tori. La machaira di Achille,” Annale Tarquinia descritte (Rome, 1878). Vetere, 2003 (Naples, 2005).
dell’Instituto universitario Orientale di Napoli 2 De Agostino, A., “La Tomba delle Anatre di Veii,” Giuliano, A., “Osservazioni sulle pitture della Tomba
(1980), p. 25ff. ArchCl 15 (1963), p. 219ff., also in Gli archeologi dei Tori a Tarquinia,” StEtr 37 (1969), p. 3ff.
———, “Sulle tombe Del Tuffatore e Della Caccia e italiani in onore di Amedeo Maiuri (Cava dei Gjødesen, M., “Vaegmalerierne i Etruriens
Pesca. Proposta di lettura iconologica,” DArch 5 Tirreni, 1965), p. 139ff. Kammergrave,” Meddelelser fra Ny Carlsberg
(1987), n. 2, p. 113ff. ———, La Tomba delle Anatre (Rome, 1964). Glyptotek (Copenhagen) 3 (1946), p. 3ff.
Chiesa, F., Tarquinia – Archeologia e prosopografia tra De Cheluzzi, M., Le tombe etrusche dipinte di Chiusi Harari, M., “A Tarquinia, tra pittura vascolare e
ellenismo e romanizzazione (Rome, 2005). (Bologna, 1930). pittura parietale. Due studi di decorazione
Coarelli, F., “Le pitture della Tomba François a Vulci. De la Valle, E., Corneto monumentale e la necropoli accessoria,” Numismaticha e Antichità Classiche
Una proposta di lettura,” DArch 1 (1983), n. 2, etrusca tarquiniese (Corneto, 1914). 23 (1994), p. 157ff.
p. 43ff. Della Fina G. M., “Pittori a Sarteano,” Archeo 20 Herbig, R., and E. Simon, Götter und Dämonen der
Colonna, G., s.v. “Tarquinia,” European Association of (2004), no. 3, p. 32ff. Etrusker (Mainz, 1965).
Archaeologists (EAA) Suppl. (1973), p. 766ff. Del Monaco, R., “Osservazioni su alcune pitture Heurgon, J., “Un legatus a Volsinii. A propos des
———, “Firme arcaiche di artefici nell’Italia etrusche del V secolo,” Contributi dell’istituto di inscriptions de la Tombe Golini I,” MEFRA 86
centrale,” RM 82 (1975), p. 181ff. archeologia (Milan) 2 (1969), p. 15ff. (1974), p. 707ff.
———, “Per una cronologia della pittura etrusca Dentzer, J. M., “Les systèmes décoratifs dans la Hitzl, K., Die Entstehung und Entwicklung des
di età ellenistica,” DArch 2 (1984), 1ff.; also in peinture murale italique,” MEFRA 80 (1968), Volutenkraters von den frühesten Anfängen bis zur
Ricerche di pittura ellenistica (1985), p. 139ff. p. 85ff. Ausprägung des kanonischen Stils in der attisch-
Conestabile, G. C., Pitture murali a fresco e De Wit, J., “Die Vorritzungen der etruskischen schwarz-figurigen Vasenmalerei (Frankfurt and
suppellettili etrusche scoperte presso Orvieto nel Grabmalerei,” JdI 44 (1929), p. 31ff. Bern, 1982), p. 149ff.
1863 (Florence, 1865). Dobrowolski, W., “La peinture étrusque dans les Holliday, P. J., “Narrative Structures in the François
Cristofani, M., “Ricerche sulle pitture della Tomba recherches du XVIIIe siècle 1,” Archeologia Tomb,” Narrative and Event in Ancient Art
François di Vulci. I fregi decorative,” DArch 1 (Warsaw) 39 (1988), p. 27ff. (Cambridge, 1993), p. 175ff.
(1967), p. 186ff. ———, “La Tomba del Biclinio,” Atti del secondo Holloway, R. R., “Conventions of Etruscan Painting
———, “Il fregio d’armi della Tomba Giglioli di congresso internazionale etrusco, Florence, 1985 in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing at
Tarquinia,” DArch 1 (1967), p. 288ff. (Rome, 1989), p. 205ff. Tarquinii,” AJA 69 (1965), p. 341ff.
———, “La Tomba del Tifone. Cultura e società a ———, “La Tomba dei sacerdoti danzanti a ———, “The Bulls in the Tomb of the Bulls at
Tarquinia in età tardoetrusca,” Memorie, Atti Corneto,” Die Welt der Etrusker, Internationales Tarquinia,” AJA 90 (1986), p. 447ff.
dell’Accademia nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Kolloquium, Berlin, 1988 (Berlin, 1990), p. 307ff. Jannot, J. R., “L’aulos étrusque,” L’Antiquité classique
scienze morali, storiche, e filologiche 14 (1969), ———, “La Tomba della Mercareccia e i problemi 43 (1974), p. 118ff.
p. 213ff. connessi,” StEtr 63 (1997), p. 123ff. ———, “Une représentation symbolique des
———, “Le pitture della Tomba del Tifone,” Dohrn, T., review of Nuovi Monumenti della pittura défunts. A propos de la tombe tarquinienne du lit
MonPitt 1, no. 5 (Rome, 1971). etrusca, by M. Moretti, Göttingische Gelehrte funèbre,” MEFRA 89 (1977), p. 579ff.
———, “Storia dell’arte e acculturazione. Le pitture Anzeigen (1969), p. 211ff. ———, “La lyre et la cythare. Les instruments a
tombali arcaiche di Tarquinia,” Prospettiva 7 ———, “Die Blüte der Malerei in Etrurien,” cordes de la musique étrusque,” L’Antiquité
(1976), p. 2ff. Antidoron, Festschrift für J. Thimme (Karlsruhe, classique 48 (1979), p. 469ff.
———, “Pittura funeraria e celebrazione della 1982) p. 133ff. ———, “La tombe della Mercareccia à Tarquinia,”
morte. Il caso della Tomba dell’Orco,” Tarquinia: Ducati, P., “La pittura funeraria degli Etruschi,” Revue belge de philiologie et d’histoire 60 (1982),
Ricerche, scavi e prospettive, Atti del convegno Atena e Roma 17 (1914), p. 129ff. p. 101ff.
internazionale di studi “La Lombardia per gli ———, “Le pitture delle tombe delle Leonesse e dei
Etruschi,” Milan, 1986 (Milan, 1987), p. 191ff. Vasi dipinti,” MonPitt 1, vol. 1 (Rome, 1937).
318 BIBLIOGRAPHY
———, “La tombe clusienne de Poggio al Moro, ou Matt, Leonard von, with text by M. Moretti, The Napoli, M., Pittura antica in Italia (Bergamo, 1960).
le programme des jeux clusiens,” Ktema 11 (1986), Art of the Etruscans (London, 1970). Naso, A., “All’origine della pittura etrusca.
p. 189ff. Messerschmidt, F., Beiträge zur Chronologie der Decorazione parietale e architettura funeraria in
———, “A propos de la Tombe du lit funèbre,” etruskischen Wandmalerei (Halle, 1926). Etruria meridionale nel VII secolo a.C.,” Jahrbuch
Studia Tarquiniensia (Rome, 1988), p. 53ff. ———, “Osservazioni sulla Tomba del Cardinale in des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums
———, “A propos des cavaliers de la Tomba Tarquinia,” StEtr 2 (1928), p. 125ff. Mainz 37 (1990), p. 439ff.
Querciola. Dévelopment d’une nuovelle ———, “Untersuchungen zur Tomba del Letto ———, La Tomba dei Denti di Lupo a Cerveteri
cavalerie à aube du IVe siécle? ,” MEFRA 107 Funebre in Tarquinia,” StEtr 3 (1929), p. 519ff. (Florence, 1991).
(1995), p. 13ff. ———, “Probleme der etruskischen Malerei des ———, Architetture dipinte. Decorazioni parietali
Jucker, H., “Ein neuerworbenes etruskisches Hellenismus,” JdI 45 (1930), p. 62ff. non figurate nelle tombe a camera dell’Etruria
Freskofragment im Museum für Kunst und ———, “Tomba Querciola I bei Tarquinia,” Scritti in meridionale. VII–V sec. a.C. (Rome, 1996).
Gewerbe Hamburg,” Jahrbuch der Hamburger onore di B. Nogara (Vatican City, 1937), p. 289ff. ———, “La Tomba del Convegno a Tarquinia,” La
Kunstsammlung 13 (1968), p. 27ff. Messerschmidt, F., and A. von Gerkan, “Die peinture funéraire antique: IV siècle av. J.C.–
Körte, A., “Ein Wandgemälde von Vulci als Nekropolen von Vulci,” JdI Suppl. 12 (1930). IV siècle ap. J.C., Actes du VIIe Colloque de
Document zur römischen Königsgeschichte,” Minetti, A., ed., Pittura etrusca: problemi e AIPMA, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Vienna, 1998
JdI 22 (1897), p. 57ff. prospettive, Atti del convegno, Sarteano and (Paris, 2001), p. 21ff.
Krauskopf, I., Todesdämonen und Totengötter im Chiusi, 2001 (Siena, 2003). ———, Pittura etrusca. Guida breve (Rome, 2005).
vorhellenistischen Etrurien (Florence, 1987). Moebius, H., “Zeichnungen etruskischer Neppi Modona, A., “Di alcuni problemi suggeriti
Leisinger, H., Malerei der Etrusker (Stuttgart, 1953). Kammergräber und Einzelfunde von James dalla pittura etrusca del IV–II sec. a. C.,” Annali
Lerici, C. M., Prospezioni archeologiche a Tarquinia. Byres,” RM 73/74 (1966/67), p. 53ff. delle Università Toscane 10 (1925/26), p. 223ff.
La necropoli delle tombe dipinte (Milan, 1959). Moltesen, M., and C. Weber-Lehmann, Catalogue of Oleson, J. P., “Greek Myth and Etruscan Imagery in
———, Nuove testimonianze dell’arte e della civiltà the Copies of Etruscan Tomb Paintings in the Ny the Tomb of the Bulls at Tarquinia,” AJA 79
etrusca (Milan, 1960). Carlsberg Glyptotek (Copenhagen, 1991). (1975), p. 189ff.
———, Italia sepolta (Milan, 1962). ———, Etruskische Grabmalerei. Faksimiles und Pallottino, M., “Tipologia dei frontoni arcaici,”
———, Una grande avventura della archeologia Aquarelle. Dokumentation aus der Ny Carlsberg Atti della Pontificia Accademia romana di
moderna. 1955/65 – Dieci anni di prospezioni Glyptotek und dem Schwedischen Institut in Rom archeologia, Rendiconti 8 (1931/32), p. 187ff.
archeologiche (Milan, 1965). (Mainz, 1992). ———, “Tarquinia,” Monumenti Antichi 36 (1937),
Lesky, M., “Zum Gewand des Vel Saties in der Mora, P., L. Mora, and P. Philippot, La conservation p. 1ff.
Tomba François,” Die Integration der Etrusker des peintures murales (Bologna, 1977). ———, La Peinture Etrusque (Geneva, 1952).
und das Weiterwirken etruskischen Kulturgutes im Morandi, A., “La più tarda pittura etrusca,” Società ———, Tarquinia, Wandmalerei aus etruskischen
republikanischen und kaiserzeitlichen Rom tarquiniese di arte e cultura, Bollettino delle Gräbern (Munich, 1955).
(Vienna, 1998), p. 177ff. attività nell’anno 1973 (1973), p. 55ff. ———, s.v. “Tarquinia,” European Association of
Loeffler, E. P., “A Lost Etruscan Painted Tomb,” ———, Le Pitture della Tomba del Cardinale (Rome, Archaeologists (EAA) Suppl. 7 (1966), p. 619ff.
Essays in Memory of K. Lehmann (New York, 1983). Pandolfini Angeletti, M., and A. M. Sgubini Moretti,
1964), p. 198ff. ———, “La Tomba degli Scudi di Tarquinia. “Una gens di Vulci. I Tutes,” ArchCl 43 (1991),
Maggiani, A., “Nuovi dati per la ricostruzione del Contributo epigrafico per l’esegesi dei soggetti,” p. 633ff.
ciclo pittorico della Tomba François,” DArch 1 MEFRA 99, no. 1 (1987), p. 95ff. Paribeni, M., Cause di deperimento e metodi di
(1983), n. 2, p. 71ff. ———, “La Tomba dei Ceisinies a Tarquinia. Una conservazione delle pitture murali delle tombe
———, “Appunti sulle magistrature etrusche,” nuova lettura dell’iscrizione CIE 5525,” RM 96 sotterranee di Tarquinia (Rome, 1970).
StEtr 62 (1996), p. 95ff. (1989), p. 285ff. Paschinger, E., “Die Giebelfresken in der Tomba dei
Mansuelli, G. A., Le tombe di Tarquinia (Florence, Morandi, M., “Novità sui Velcha di Tarquinia,” Tori,” AW 14 (1983), n. 2, p. 33ff.
1965). ArchCl (1995), p. 267ff. Petersen, E., “Über die älteste etruskische
———, “Le sens architectural dans les peintures Morandi, M., and G. Colonna, “La gens titolare della Wandmalerei,” RM 17 (1902), p. 149ff.
des tombes tarquiniennes avant l’époque tomba tarquiniese dell’Orco,” StEtr 61 (1995), Pianu, G., “Pittura parietale e pittura vascolare tra
hellénistique,” RA (1967), p. 41 ff. p. 95ff. V e IV sec. in Etruria. Una nota,” DArch 1 (1983),
Markussen, E. P., Painted Tombs in Etruria: A Moretti, M., “La Tomba della Nave,” BdA 45 (1960), n. 2, p. 87.
Bibliography (Odense, 1979). p. 346ff. Pittura etrusca a Orvieto. Le tombe di Settecamini e
———, Tomba del Gorgoneion Reviewed (Odense, ———, La Tomba della Nave (Milan, 1961). degli Hescanas a un secolo dalla scoperta.
1982); also in AnalRom 12 (1983), p. 55ff. ———, Nuovi monumenti della pittura etrusca Documenti e materiali (Rome, 1982).
———, “Out of Tarquinia. The Grotta Penta at (Milan, 1966). Pitture etrusche tarquiniesi. La sala delle tombe
Blera,” AnalRom 14 (1985), p. 17ff. ———, “Nuove pitture etrusche,” Archeologia 6 dipinte nel Museo Archeologico Naz. di Tarquinia
———, “Out of Tarquinia: A Note on Another (1967), p. 53ff. (Novara, 1994).
Painted Tomb at Blera,” ActaHyp 3 (1991), p. 73ff. ———, Tarquinia (Novara, 1974). Pontrandolfo, A., A. Rouveret, and M. Cipriani, The
Massa-Pairault, F. H., “Problemi di lettura della Moretti, M., and L. von Matt, Etruskische Malerei in Painted Tombs of Paestum (Paestum, 2004).
pittura funeraria di Orvieto,” DArch 1 (1983), Tarquinia (Köln, 1974); Pittura etrusca in Poulsen, F., Etruscan Tomb Paintings (Oxford, 1922).
n. 2, p. 19ff. Tarquinia (Milan, 1974). Prayon, F., “Todesdämonen und die Troilossage in
———, “La Tombe Giglioli, ou l’espoir dècu de Vel Moretti Sgubini, A. M., ed., Eroi etruschi e miti greci. der etruskischen Kunst,” RM 84 (1977), p. 181ff.
Pinie. Un tournant dans la société étrusque,” Gli affreschi della Tomba François a Vulci. Rastrelli, A., ed., Chiusi etrusca (Chiusi, 2000).
Studia Tarquiniensia (Rome, 1988), p. 69ff. (Montalto di Castro, 2004). Rebuffat, D., and R. Rebuffat, “De Sidoine
———, “La Tombe des lionnes à Tarquinia. Moretus, J., “Les peintures detruites des tombes a Apollinaire à la Tomba François,” Latomus 37
Emporion, cultes et société,” StEtr 64 (1998), chambre étrusque de style archaiques a Chiusi,” (1978), p. 88ff.
p. 43ff. Recherches d’Archeologie e d’Histoire de l’Art Rendeli, M., “Anagoghe,” Prospettiva 83–84 (1996),
(Louvain, Paris 1970), p. 81ff. p. 10ff.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 319
Ridley, R. T., “The Enigma of Servius Tullius,” Klio 57 Stangl, M., Die Pflanzendarstellungen in der ———, “C.Genucio(s) Clousino(s) prai(fectos). La
(1975), p. 147ff. etruskischen Wandmalerei (Graz, 1975). fondazione della praefectura Caeritum,” The
Romanelli, P., “Le pitture della Tomba della Caccia e Steingräber, S., “Die etruskisch-hellenistische Roman Middle Republic: Politics, Religion and
Pesca,” MonPitt 1, vol. 2 (Rome, 1938). Wandmalerei,” AW 19 (1988), no. 3, p. 17ff. Historiography c. 400 – 133 .., papers from a
———, Tarquinia. La necropoli e il museo (Rome, ———, “Die Tomba dei Festoni in Tarquinia und conference at the Institutum Romanum
1940). die Deckenmalereien der jüngeren etruskischen Finlandiae, September 11–12, 1998, Acta Instituti
Roncalli, F., “La definizione pittorica dello spazio Kammergräber,” JdI 103 (1988), p. 217ff. Romani Finlandiae 23 (2000), p. 141ff.
tombale nella ‘età della crisi’,” Crise et ———, “Die etruskisch-hellenistische Grabmalerei. Van der Meer, L. B., “Kylikeia in Etruscan Tomb
transformation des sociétés archaiques de l’Italie Probleme und Perspektiven,” Die Welt der Paintings,” Ancient Greek and Related Pottery,
antique au Ve siècle av. J.C., Actes de la table Etrusker, Internationale Kolloquium, Berlin 1988 proceedings of the international vase sympo-
ronde, Rome, 1987 (Rome, 1990), p. 229ff. (Berlin, 1990), p. 315ff. sium, Amsterdam, April 1984 (Amsterdam, 1984),
Rouveret, A., “La tombe du Plongeur et les fresques ———, “Nekropoleis, taphoi kai toichographies,” p. 298ff.
étrusques. Temoignages sur la peinture grecque,” Epta Emeres 32 (1999), no. 2, p. 9ff. ———, “Thematische Symmetrie in der
RA (1974), p. 15ff. ———, “Gab es eine Koinè in der mediterranen etruskischen Kunst,” Bulletin antieke beschaving,
———, “Espace sacré, espace pictural. Une Malerei der frühhellenistischen Zeit?,” La Annual Papers on Classical Archaeology 60 (1985),
hypothèse sur quelques peintures archaiques de peinture funéraire antique: IV siècle av. J.C.– p. 72ff.
Tarquinia,”Annali del seminario di studi del IV siècle ap. J.C., Actes du VIIe Colloque de Van Essen, C. C., Did Orphic Influence on Etruscan
mondo classico, Sezione archeologico e storia AIPMA, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Vienna 1998 Tomb Paintings Exist? Studies in Etruscan Tomb
antica 10 (1988), p. 203ff. (Paris, 2001), p. 201ff. Paintings 1 (Amsterdam and Paris, 1927).
———, “La tombe tarquinienne de la chasse et de ———, “Ahnenkult und bildliche Darstellungen ———, “La Tomba del Cardinale,” StEtr 2 (1928),
la pèche. Quelques remarques sur la peinture de von Ahnen in etruskischen und unteritalischen p. 83ff.
la paysage à l’époque archaique,” RA (1992), Grabgemälden aus vorrömischer Zeit,” Images of Vlad Borrelli, L., “Proposte per il restauro e la
p. 170ff. Ancestors (Åarhus, 2002), p. 127ff. conservazione delle pitture murali,” Bollettino
Rumpf, A., Die Wandmalereien in Veii (Potsdam, ———, ed., Etruscan Painting: Catalogue Raisonné dell’Istituto Centrale de Restauro (1965), p. 21ff.
1915). of Etruscan Wall Painting (New York, 1986). ———, “Rapporto sulle cause di deperimento delle
———, Malerei und Zeichnung der klassiken Antike, ———, ed., Investing in the Afterlife, University pitture murali di Tarquinia,” StEtr 42 (1974),
Handbuch der Archäologie 4, no. 1 (Munich, Museum of Tokyo (Tokyo, 2000). p. 161ff.
1953). Stenico, A., La pittura etrusca e romana (Milan, ———, “Nota sulla tecnica nella pittura parietale
Rupp, W., “The Vegetal Goddess in the Tomb of 1963). etrusca,” DArch 1 (1983), no. 2, p. 89ff.
Typhon,” in press. Stopponi, S., “Parapetasmata etruschi,” BdA 53 ———, “Cartoni, modelli, disegno preparatorio
Sacchetti, F., “Charu(n) nella pittura funeraria (1968), p. 60ff. nelle pitture delle tombe etrusche,” ArchCl 43
etrusca,” Ocnus 8 (2000), p. 127ff. ———, “La Tomba dei Pigmei,” DArch 1 (1983), (1991), p. 179ff.
Scala, N., “La tomba del letto funebre di Tarquinia. no. 2, p. 85ff. Walberg, G., “The Tomb of the Baron Reconsidered,”
Un tentativo di interpretazione,” Prospettiva 85 ———, La Tomba della Scrofa nera (Rome, 1983). StEtr 54 (1986), p. 51ff.
(1997), p. 46ff. Tassi Scandone, E., Verghe, scuri e fasci littori in Weber-Lehmann, C., “Zur Datierung der
Seeberg, A., “Tomba Campana, Corinth, Veii,” Etruria. Contributi allo studio degli Insignia tarquinischen Grabmalerei des 5. und 4.
Hamburger Beiträge zur Archäologie 3 (1973), Imperii (Pisa and Rome, 2001). Jhs.v.Chr.,” Die Aufnahme fremder Kultureinflüsse
p. 65ff. Thuillier, J. P., Les jeux athlétiques dans la civilisation in Etrurien und das Problem des Retardierens in
Serra Ridgway, F. R., “Aspetti della necropoli ellenis- étrusque (Rome, 1985). der etruskischen Kunst, Schriften des Deutschen
tica nel Fondo Scataglini ai Monterozzi,” ———, “Peintes funéraires et jeux étrusques. Archäologen Verbandes 5 (Mannheim, 1981),
Tarquinia: Ricerche, scavi e prospettive (Milan, L’example de la Tomba des Olympiades à p. 161ff.
1986), p. 256ff. Tarquinia,” La peinture funéraire antique: IV siècle ———, “Studien zur Typologie und Chronologie
———, I corredi del Fondo Scataglini a Tarquinia. av. J.C.–IV siècle ap. J.C., Actes du VIIe Colloque der archaischen Grabmalerei Tarquinia,” unpub-
Scavi della Fondazione C. M. Lerici (Milan, 1996). de AIPMA, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Vienna, lished dissertation (Marburg, 1982).
———, Lo scavo nel Fondo Scataglini a Tarquinia. 1998 (Paris, 2001), p. 15ff. ———, “Fragmente aus tarquinischen Gräbern,”
Scavi della Fondazione C. M. Lerici (Milan, 1997). Tinè Bertocchi, F., La pittura funeraria apula Archäologischer Anzeiger (1983), p. 593ff.
———, “The Tomb of the Anina Family: Some (Naples, 1964). ———, “Spätarchaische Gelagebilder in Tarquinia,”
Motifs in Late Tarquinian Painting,” Ancient Italy Tonini, A., “La tomba tarquiniese del Cacciatore,” RM 92 (1985), p. 19ff.
in Its Mediterranean Setting: Studies in Honour of StEtr 38 (1970), p. 45ff. ———, “Beobachtungen zur Tomba 5513 in
Ellen Macnamara (London, 2000), p. 301ff. Torelli, M., Elogia Tarquiniensia (Florence, 1975). Tarquinia,” Atti del secondo congresso
Simon, E., “Die Tomba dei Tori und der etruskische ———, “Ideologia e rappresentazione nelle tombe internazionale etrusco, Florence, 1985, (Rome,
Apollokult,” JdI 88 (1973), p. 27ff. tarquiniesi dell’Orco I e II,” DArch 1 (1983), no. 2, 1989), p. 733ff.
Spiteris, T., La peinture grecque et étrusque p. 7ff. ———, “Die Dokumentation der etruskischen
(Lausanne, 1965). ———, “Limina Averni. Realtà e rappresentazione Grabmalerei aus dem Nachlass Alessandro
Sprenger, M., “Qualche annotazione sull’esegesi e la nella pittura tarquiniese arcaica,” Ostraka 6 Moranis,” Opuscula Romana 18 (1990), p. 159ff.
cronologia della tomba dipinta detta del (1997), p. 63ff. ———, Bilder der Etrusker. Deutung, Datierung und
Guerriero a Tarquinia,” StEtr 37 (1969), p. 403ff. ———, Il rango, il rito e l’immagine. Alle origini Dokumentation der Grabmalerei Tarquinias,
Staccioli, R. A., “Nel centenario della scoperta. Nella della rappresentazione storica romana (Milan, Mannheimer Forum 88–89 (1993), p. 191ff.
Tomba François di Vulci l’antica storia di Roma,” 1997). ———, “Polyphem in der Unterwelt? Zur Tomba
Capitolium 32 (1957), no. 9, p. 1ff. ———, “Funera Tusca: Reality and Representation dell’Orco II in Tarquinia,” RM 102 (1995), p. 71ff.
———, “Le finte porte dipinte nelle tombe arcaiche in Archaic Tarquinian Painting,” The Art of ———, “Die Ausstattung etruskischer Klinengelage.
etrusche,” Quaderni dell’Istituto di Archeologia e Ancient Spectacle (Washington, 1999), p. 146ff. Ergebnisse historischer und moderner
Storia Antica, Chieti 1 (1980), p. 1ff. Dokumentationen der Grabmalerei Tarquinias,”
320 BIBLIOGRAPHY
La peinture funéraire antique, IV siècle av. J.C.– ———, Etruscan Red-Figured Vase-Painting at Caere Murray, A. S., “Archaic Etruscan Paintings from
IV siècle ap. J.C., Actes du VIIe Colloque de (Berkeley, 1974). Caere,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 10 (1889),
AIPMA, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Vienna, 1998 ———, The Etruscan Funnel Group: A Tarquinian p. 243ff.
(Paris, 2001), p. 29ff. Red-Figured Fabric (Florence, 1974). Neppi Modona, A., “Pitture Etrusche arcaiche: le
Weeber, K. W., “Tarquinia, Portrait einer ———, “Two Etruscan Painted Terracotta Panels,” lastre fittili ceretane,” Emporium 67 (1928), p. 97ff.
etruskischen Metropole,” AW 11 (1980), no. 2, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 11 (1983), Parise Badoni, F., Ceramica campana a figure nere
p. 15ff. p. 129ff. (Florence, 1968).
Weege, F., “Etruskische Gräber mit Gemälden in ———, “Two Fragmentary Etruscan Painted Pasquinucci, M., Le kelebai Volterrane (Florence,
Corneto,” JdI 31 (1916), p. 105ff. Terracotta Panels,” The J. Paul Getty Museum 1968).
———, Etruskische Malerei (Halle, 1921). Journal 12 (1984), p. 119ff. Pianu, G., Ceramiche etrusche a figure rosse, Materiali
Wiel Marin, F., “Due diverse associazioni di vasi nel Deppert, K., Faliskische Vasen (Frankfurt, 1955). del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia 1
banchetto etrusco,” RM 104 (1997), p. 513ff. Dohrn, T., Die Schwarzfigurigen etruskischen Vasen (Rome, 1980).
Zanoni, I., Natur- und Landschaftsdarstellungen in aus der zweiten Hälfte des sechsten Jahrhunderts ———, Ceramiche etrusche sovradipinte, Materiali
der etruskischen und unteritalischen Wandmalerei (Berlin, 1937). del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia 3
(Bern, 1998). Ducati, P., Pontische Vasen (Berlin, 1932). (Rome, 1982).
Zuffa, M., “A proposito dei soggetti monetali nelle Fleming, S. J., H. Jucker, and J. Riederer, “Etruscan Ricci Portoghesi, L., “Una nuova lastra dipinta
pitture della Tomba Giglioli di Tarquinia,” Wall-Paintings on Terracotta: A Study in cerite,” ArchCl 18 (1966), p. 16ff.
StEtr 37 (1969), p. 491ff. Authenticity,” Archaeometry 13 (1971), p. 143ff. Rizzo, M. A., “Corredi con vasi pontici da Vulci,”
Giuliano, A., “Il Pittore delle Rondini,” Prospettiva 3 Xenia 2 (1981), p. 13ff.
4. Works on other types of Etruscan painting and (1975), p. 6ff. ———, “Contributo al repertorio iconografico della
on Etruscan mosaic Hannestad, L., The Paris Painter (Copenhagen, ceramica pontica,” Prospettiva 32 (1983), p. 48ff.
1974). ———, “Nuove lastre dipinte da Cerveteri,”
Adembri, B., La più antica ceramografia falisca a ———, The Followers of the Paris Painter Tyrrhenoi philotechnoi, Atti della giornata di
figure rosse (Rome, 1987). (Copenhagen, 1976). studio, Università della Tuscia, Viterbo, 1990
Åkerström, Å., Der geometrische Stil in Italien (Lund, Harari, M., Il “Gruppo Clusium” della ceramografia (Rome, 1994), p. 51ff.
1943). etrusca (Rome, 1980). Roncalli, F., Le lastre dipinte di Cerveteri (Florence,
Barbieri, G., “Musarna 2. Note in margine al 1965).
Haynes, S., “Ein etruskisches Parisurteil,” RM 83
———, “A proposito delle lastre dipinte di Boston,”
restauro dei mosaici,” BdA 72 (1987), no. 41, (1976), p. 227ff.
ArchCl 21 (1969), p. 172ff.
p. 61ff. Hemelrijk, J. M., Caeretan Hydriae (Mainz, 1984).
Schippa, F., Officine ceramiche falische (Bari, 1980).
Barbieri, G., H. Broise, and V. Jolivet, “Musarna 1. I Jolivet, V., Recherches sur la céramique étrusque à
Simon, E., and R. Hampe, Griechische Sagen in der
bagni tardo repubblicani,” BdA 70 (1985), no. 29, figures rouges tardive du Musée du Louvre (Paris,
frühen etruskischen Kunst (Mainz, 1964).
p. 29ff. 1982).
Spivey, N. J., The Micali Painter and His Followers
Beazley, J. D., Etruscan Vase Painting (Oxford, 1947). Koerte, G., “Pitture del sarcofago tarquiniese detto
(New York, 1987).
Blanck, H., “Die Malereien des sog. Priester- del sacerdote,” Bulletin of the Institute of
Stefani, E., “Una serie di lastre fittili dipinte del
sarkophags in Tarquinia,” Miscellanea Archaeology of the University of London (1877),
santuario etrusco di Veio,” ArchCl 3 (1951), p. 138ff.
Archaeologica Tobias Dohrn dedicata (Rome, p. 100ff.
———, “Frammenti di lastre fittili dipinte di Veio,”
1982), p. 11ff. Krauskopf, I., Der thebanische Sagenkreis und andere
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità (1953), p. 67ff.
Bocci, P., Il sarcofago tarquiniese delle amazzoni al griechische Sagen in der etruskischen Kunst
Szilagyi, J.-G., La ceramica etrusco-corinzia figurate,
Museo Archeologico di Firenze,” StEtr 28 (1960), (Mainz, 1974).
vol. 1, 630–580 a.C. (Florence, 1992); vol. 2,
p. 109ff. Mangani, E., “Le fabbriche a figure rosse di Chiusi e
590/80–550 a.C. (Florence, 1998).
Brecoulaki, H., L’esperienza del colore nella pittura Volterra,” StEtr 58 (1992–93), p. 115ff.
Torelli, M., “Terrecotte architettoniche arcaiche da
funeraria dell’età preromana V–III sec. a.C. Martelli, M., “La ceramica greco-orientale in
Gravisca e una nota a Plinio NH 35, 151–152,”
(Naples, 2001). Etruria,” Les céramiques de la Grèce de l’Est et leur
Studi in onore di F.Magi (Perugia, 1979), p. 305ff.
Buranelli, F., L’urna Calabresi di Cerveteri (Rome, diffusion en Occident (Paris and Naples, 1978),
Un artista e il suo mondo: il Pittore di Micali, M. A.
1985). p. 150ff. Rizzo, ed., exh. cat. (Rome, Museo Nazionale
Cavagnaro Vanoni, L., and F. R. Serra Ridgway, Vasi ———, “Prima di Aristonothos,” Prospettiva 33 Etrusco di Villa Giulia, 1988).
etruschi a figure rosse dagli scavi della Fondazione (1984), p. 2ff. Vermeule, C., “Greek and Etruscan Painting: A Giant
Lerici a Tarquinia (Rome, 1989). Martelli, M., ed., La ceramica degli Etrusch: La Red-Figured Amphora and Two Etruscan Painted
Cifani, G., “Una tegola dipinta dall’area falisca. pittura vascolare (Novara, 1987). Terracotta Plaques,” Bulletin of the Museum of
Un contributo alla pittura etrusca tardo- Melis, F., “Lastre ceretane dipinte,” Italian Iron Age Fine Arts, Boston 61 (1963), p. 149ff.
orientalizzante,” ArchCl 44 (1992), p. 263ff. Artefacts in the British Museum, papers of the Weber-Hiden, I., “Ein unpublizierter etruskischer
Christiansen, J., “En etruskisk Afrodite,” Meddelelser Sixth British Museum Classical Colloquium Tonpinax,” Komos: Festschrift für Thuri Lorenz
fra Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Copenhagen) 44 (London, 1986), p. 159ff. zum 65. Geburtstag (Vienna, 1997), p. 141ff.
(1988), p. 47ff. Messerschmidt, F., “Eine archaische bemalte Urne Wikander, C., “Appunti sulle terrecotte architet-
Colonna, G., “La ceramica etrusco-corinzia e la im Museo Nazionale zu Tarquinia,” RM 45 (1930), toniche dipinte da Acquarossa,” BdA 65 (1980),
problematica storica dell’orientalizzante recente p. 191ff. no. 7, p. 85ff.
in Etruria,” ArchCl 13 (1961), p. 9ff. Michetti, L. M., Le ceramiche argentate e a rilievo in ———, Acquarossa: Results of Excavations
Contributi alla ceramica etrusca tardo-classica, Atti Etruria nella prima età ellenistica (Rome, 2003). Conducted by the Swedish Institute of Classical
del Seminario, 11 May 1984 (Rome, 1985). Micozzi, M., “White on Red”: Una produzione Studies at Rome, vol. 1, The Painted Architectural
Cristofani, M., “Nuovi dati per la storia urbana di vascolare dell’orientalizzante etrusco (Rome, 1994). Terracottas, part 1, Catalogue and Architectural
Caere,” BdA 71 (1986), nos. 35–36, p. 1ff. Moretti, M., “Lastre dipinte inedite di Caere,” Context (Stockholm, 1982).
Del Chiaro, M. A., The Genucilia Group: A Class of ArchCl 9 (1957), p. 18ff. Zindel, Ch., Frühe etruskische Keramik (Zürich,
Etruscan Red-Figured Plates (Berkeley, 1957). 1987).
BIBLIOGRAPHY 321
Ancient Literary Sources
The following ancient sources touch on the topog- Herodotus Historiae 4.152 Ptolemy Geographia 3.1, 3.4.43
raphy and history of Tarquinia and Gravisca during Justinus Epitome (of Trogus) 20.1.11 Rutilius Namatianus De reditu 1.281ff.
the Etruscan and Roman periods. Liber coloniarum 220 Servius Ad Aeneiden 10.179, 10.184, 10.198
Livy Ab urbe condita libri 1.34; 2.6, 2.16; 6.4; 7.12, Silius Italicus Punica 8.475
Celsus De medicina 31.30 7.15, 7.17, 7.19; 22.9, 22.41; 26.3; 27.4; 28.45; Statius Silvae 5.2.1
Censorinus De die natali 4.13 40.29.1–2; 41.16.6 Stephanus Byzantius Ethnica s.v. “Tarconte”
Cicero Pro Caecina 11; De divinatione 2.34; Lycophron Alexandra 1248 Strabo Geographia 5.219, 5.220, 5.225
De republica 10.34 Lydus De ostensis 3 Tabula Peutingeriana, Geographus Ravennatus 4.32;
Columella De re rustica 10.346 Macrobius Saturnalia 5.15.4 5.2; 6.36
Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheke 16.45; 20.44 Pliny Naturalis historia 2.209; 3.51–52; 8.211; 9.173; Valerius Maximus Facta et dicta memorabilia 5.3.3
Dionysius of Halicarnassus Antiquitates Romanae 14.67; 32.21; 35.152; 36.168 Velleius Paterculus Historia romana 1.15.4
3.46, 3.61, 3.137; 5.5, 5.14ff. Pomponius Mela De Chronographia 2.72 Vitruvius De architectura 2.7.3
Prosopographic Index of Family Names

from Hellenistic Tarquinia
Acnatru Ceisinie Hulchnie Senti

Avena Clevsina Lemni Sentina
Alethna Cnevna Licni Sefri
Alvethna Cresce Luvce Spantu
Alsina Culcnie Luvcti Spitu
Ane Culsuni Matulna Spuria
Anina Curuna Metli Statie
Apatru Cusina Murina Suplu
Aprthna Cutna Palazu Supu
Aprie Cutu Paprsina Tite
Apuna Ecnate Partunu Trepu
Arzni Ezpu Peine Tusna
Atie Eizene Pinie Uisce
Cacnie Einana Polena Ursumna
Caliate Felce Pumpu Velca
Camna Felina Pumpunu Velfre
Carsu Flentra Ruvfni Vestrcni
Catna Heire Safici Vipena
Ceicna Hercna Scurna Vipi
Ceisi Huzcne Seitithi Zertna
322 ANCIENT LITERARY SOURCES

Index
The page numbers in italics refer to Anina Family, Tomb of the, Tarquinia B Bovini, G. 42
captions for illustrations. 16, , 21, 190, 248, 249, 250, 252, 256, Bacchantes, Master of the 71 Brecoulaki, Hariclia 20, 239
,  Bacchantes, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Bright Colors, Master of the 89
A Anina, Larth 256, 257 21, , 67, , 71, , 99 Bronze Door, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 100
Acheloos 26, 91 Aninas, Velthur 261 Bacchiadae 46 Bruschi 12
Acheron 181, 194 Annio da Viterbo 12 Banditaccia necropolis 123, 124, 262 Bruschi Tomb, Tarquinia 21, 212, 250, 254,
Achilles , 91, , 126, 192, 209, 237, 238, Antelopes, Tomb of the, Tarquinia  Banqueters, Master of the 71 , 260
240, 284, 293 Antiphilos of Alexandria 10 Barbarano Group 242 Brutus 205
Acquarossa 38, 41, 63, 68, 123 Apatrui 26 Barberini Tomb  Brygos 125, 138
Adam, A.-M. 70 Apelles of Colophon 10, 205, 291 Baron, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Brygos Painter 26
Adembri, B. 240 Aphrodite 25, 64, 98, 99, 182 , , 65, 67, , 71, 96, 98, , 103, Bulls, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, 67,
Adria 182, 194 Apollo 64, 70, 91, 124, 192, 241, 260 126, 139 70, 71, , 89, 91, , 92, 281
Agamemnon/Achmemrum , 209, 238 Apollodorus of Athens 10, 207 Bartoccini Tomb, Tarquinia , 90 Buranelli, F. 277
Agatharchos of Samos 10 Appian 251 Bearded Sphinx Painter 44, 47, 60 Byres, James 12, 163, 210, 253, 257
Agathocles 247 Aprthnai 210 Bearded Sphinx Painter, Tomb of the,
Aghios Athanasios, tomb in, Macedonia Aprthnai, Ravnthu 210,  Vulci 47 C
214, 254, , 291,  Ap[u]na 254, 261 Beazley, J. D. 125, 240 Caere see Cerveteri
Aiax/Eivas 209, 212, 238 Ara della Regina, temple of 22, 25, 26, 185 Bebrycians 192 Caeretan Hydriae Group 64–65, 92, 124,
Aineia/Nea Michaniona (Macedonia), Aranth Heracanasa 70, 95 Bella Tumulu 285, 290 125
tomb from ,  Arcatelle 21, 22 Bellerophon 91, 241 Caeretan Hydriae, Master of the 124
Aita/Hades (god) 12, 70, 188, 193, 209, 212, Ares 126 Belvedere Temple 131 Calvario 15, 21, 22
242, 263, 277, 290 Arezzo 129, 131, 185, 245, 246 Benassai, Rita 103, 295 Calydon 46
Åkerström, Åke 36 Argonaut Group 183, 242 Berlin Painter 26, 125, 182 Camna 26, 210
Aleria 182, 242 Argonauts 192, 241 Bettini, Claudio 21 Campana, Gian Pietro 58, 124
Alethna 278 Ariadne 38 Bianchi Bandinelli, Ranuccio 14, 121, Campana plaques , 123, 124, 281
Alexander the Great 11, 205, 285, 286, 288, Arieti Tomb 300 255–56, 301 Campana Tomb, Veii 43, , 44, 47, 58, ,
290, 295 Arimaspeans 241 Bibliothèque Nationale 178, Painter 60, 61, 211
Alexander the Molossian 288, 297 Aristides of Thebes 10 of 126 Campana Tomb 1, Cerveteri , 
Alkestis Group 242 Aristonothos , 46, 57 Biclinium, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 162 Campanari Tomb, Vulci , 277
Alsina 260 Aristophanes 10, 36 Bigas, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 15, , 67, Campigliese 32
Alsina Family, Tomb of the, Arnthuna 248 103, , , 121, 133 Camporeale, G. 71, 89, 125
Tarquinia 260 Arnthunas, Arnth 261 Birth of Athena, Painter of the 46, 58 Canale Monterano 33
Alvethna 26 Arnthunas, Laris 261 Bisenzio 36, 37, , 64 Cancellone 9, , , 60, 
Alvethna, Larth, sarcophagus of  Arnthza 238 Bisenzio Group 127 Canciani, Fulvio 36
Amasis Painter 125, 126 Arnza ,  Black Sow, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 15, , Canina, L. , 59, 263, 
Amazon Sarcophagus, Tarquinia 11, Arpi 161, 213, 239, 251, 279, 284, 285, 286, 133, 140, ,  Canosa 239, 261, 279, 284, 285, 290,
20, 187, , 192, 207, , 239, , 295, 300,  Blanck, H. 12, 185, 240, 262 295, 300
240, 285 Artemide/Artumes 25 Blera 15, 21, 187, 237,  Capena 38, 
Amazonomachy , 192, 240, , 242 Artemis Brauronia, shrine of 288 Blue Demons, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 9, Capodimonte 33
Amphiaraos 126, 238 Artimino 41 163, , , 181, , 182, , 187, 191, Capua 131, 182, 251, 282, 285, 295, 296
Amphiaraos Painter 89, 126 Asciano Painter 242 192, 194 Cardarelli Tomb, Tarquinia , 21, 67, 71,
Amphipolis, tomb at 290 Atelier des Petites Estampilles 279 Boccanera plaques 123,  99, 100, , 121, 122, 281
Amsterdam Painter 46 Athena 46, 126, 183, 241 Bocchoris Painter 37 Cardarelli, Vincenzo 14, 100
Andokides 125 Athenaeus 46 Bocchoris Tomb, Tarquinia 25, 37 Cardella, D. 215
Andriuolo necropolis 285, , 297 Athlete, Sarcophagus of the 297 Boehlau Painter 47 Cardinal, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, ,
Andromache 205, 247 Augurs, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 15, , Bokenranf/Bocchoris 37 191, 249, 251, 252, 256, 257, , 262
Andronikos, Manolis 289, 290 21, , 65, 66, 67, 70, , 71, , 92, , Bologna see Felsina Caryatid Tomb (Sveshtari) 161, 260, 285,
Ane 248, 260 98, 99, 125, 159, 281, 282 Bolsena 245 , 287, , 292
Anes, Arnth 260 Aurora Painter 241,  Bomarzo 15, 187, 237, 255 Casal Marittimo 41
Anfushi necropolis (Alexandria) 278, 295 Aventine triad Ceres, Liber, and Libera, Bonghi Jovino, Maria 24 Casetta necropolis 237
Angelelli, Giuseppe 12,  temple of the 123 Borelli, Licia Vlad 20 Cassandra 238
Anina 26, 190, 248, 261, 257 Avvolta necropolis 24 Botticelli, Sandro 11 Castel d’Asso 33, 237, 246
INDEX 323
Castel Secco, shrine of 246 Colonna, Giovanni 28, 36, 42, 95, 143, , E Garlands, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 248,
Castellani Painter 46, 59 185, 246, 255, 259 Eizenes Family, Tomb of the, 249, , 250, 252, 255, 256, , 257,
Castellani Tomb, Praeneste  Contenebra 22 Tarquinia 262 , , 284, 286, 287, 288
Castellina in Chianti 41 Corneto 14, 15, 21, 22 Ekphantos 41, 46 Genucilia 242, 278
Castiglione in Teverina 33, 64 Cortona 41, 131, 185, 246, 259, 286 Elmalı (Lycia) 65, 281, 282,  Genucius Clepsina, C. 278
Castro 33, 37 Cortuosa 22 Emilia-Romagna 41 Geranomachy , 162, 242, 297
Casuccini Hill, Tomb of the, Chiusi 21, Cosa 15, 42, 61, 245 Eos/Aurora 241,  Gerhard, E. 12
67, , 121, 122, , 163 Crane Painter 38 Epeios 127 Geryon/Cerun , 209
Cataldi, Maria 163, 181, 210 Cristallini Hypogeum (Naples) 161 Epiktetos 103, 125 Giants 241
Cava di Pozzolana, Veii  Cristofani, Mauro 185, 195, 212, 237, 240, Erbach Painter 183, 240 Gigantomachy 259
Cavagnaro Vanoni, Lucia 28 251, 258, 260, 277, 278 Ergotimos 125 Giglioli Tomb, Tarquinia 16, , 191,
Cècina 14 Croesus 22 Eros 99, 183, 209 , 248, 251, 253, , 254, 256, 263,
Ceisinie Tomb, Tarquinia 20, 187, Culsans 25 Esquiline Hill, tomb on the, Rome , 288
210, 212 Curuna 26, 190, 207, 248, 256 285, 300 Gilotta, F. 163, 185, 240, 259
Cel Ati 260 Cybele 262 Eteocles , 237, 238 Giuliano, A. 91, 125
Celle, shrine of 240,  Euchir 41 Glàukes Group 242
Celle, temple of 185, 212 D Eugrammos 41 Gnosis 260, 294
Centauromachy 242 D’Agostino, B. 69, 237 Euphranor 10 Goethe 287
Centauromachy, Painter of the Damaratos 22, 24, 41, 46 Euphronios 103, 125 Golini Tomb I, Orvieto I 12, 15, 16, 187,
(Florence) 242 Damophilos 123, 133 Eupompos 10 188, 191, 211, , 212, , , 214, 215,
Centuripe 239 Dancing Priests, Tomb of the, Europa 125 218, , 240
Cephalus 241,  Tarquinia 262 Eurydike, Tomb of, Vergina , 290 Golini Tomb II, Orvieto 12, 15, 16, 187,
Cerberus , 125, 209 Dancing Satyrs Painter 127, 182 Eurynomos 181 195, 210, 211, 212, , 215, 218, 249,
Cerchiai, Luca 69, 99 Danielson 210 Eurystheus , 125 250, 260
Ceres 262 Dante 14 Euthymides 103, 125 Gordion (Phrygia), Painted House 65,
Cerveteri 9, 15, 16, 20, 24, 26, 31, , 32, Dareios Painter 192, 238, 285 Eutyclides 247 281, 282
, 33, , , , 38, , 41, 42, , 44, Dasti, L. 14 Exekias 123, 125 Gorgasos 123
, 46, , 47, , 57, 58, , 60, 63, 64, Dead Man, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Gorgon plaques 123
93, 96, 98, 122, 123, 124, 125, , 126, 67, 70, 71, 92, 98, 100,  F Gorgoneion/Gorgons 47, 122, 123, 158,
181, 182, 185, 213, 240, 242, 245, 246, Deer Hunt, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Fabius Pictor, C. 247, 300 , 161, , 241, 282, 284, 293
248, 254, , 257, 262, , 277, 278, 133, 142,  Fabius, Q. (Max Rullianus?) 300 Gorgoneion, Tomb of the, Tarquinia ,
286, 287 Del Chiaro, M. 240 Falerii 33, 38, 122, 129, 131, 163, 183, 185, 161, 162, 186, 
Cesnola Painter 37 Della Sorgente necropolis 22 212, 237, 240, , 241, 242, , 245, Gori 253, 262
Charon 132, 181, 194 Dell’Impiccato necropolis 22 260, 279 Gravisca 20, 22, 24, 25, 64, 65, 129
Charun 188, 192, 193, 194, 195, , 207, Delos 11, 12, 38, 278 Falerii Novi 188, 245, 246, 251 Griffins 241
218, 242, 252, , 253, 254, 256, 257, Delphi 69, 192 Falerii Veteres see Falerii Grotta Dipinta (Painted Grotto) 60–61,
258, , 261, ,  Demeter 25, 64, 181 Falerii Veteres necropolis 183 237, 255
Charuns, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, , Demetrias 11 Fantasma Group 242 Grotta Dipinta II (Painted Grotto II)
21, 193, 252, 258, ,  Dennis, George 14, 59, 61 Felsina 130, 131, 132, 182, 193, 259 237, 
Chimaera 91, 131, 241 Diespater Painter 183, 241 Feoli Painter 47 Grotta Porcina 33
Chiusi 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 41, 42, 60, 61, 64, Diodorus Siculus 68 Feruglio, Anna Eugenia 211, 215 Grotte di Castro 33, 64, 
66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 99, 100, 103, , 121, Dion 290 Fiesole 64, 90 Grotte San Stefano 15, 33, 131, 163
, 122, , 129, 130, 131, 132, 142, 163, Dionysius of Halicarnassus 46, 300 Fleischer, R. 240
185, 187, 207, 214, 215, 218, 237, 240, Dionysos 70, 99, 126 Florence 80675 Group 127 H
242, 245, 246, 248, 253, 257, 259, 260, Dionysos and the Sileni, Tomb with, Florus 205, 247 Hades (place) 181, 188, , 191, 193, 195,
277, 278, 286 Tarquinia 67, 68 Fondazione Lerici 9, 14, 27 206, 209, 258
Chrysaor 282 Diopos 41 Fondo Scataglini 16, 21, 253, 256, 258, Hadra Vases 260, 295
Chrysippus 192 Dioscuri 98, 139, 155, 182 261, 277 Hannestad, L. 125, 126
Cicero 247 Diver, Tomb of the, Paestum 11, 96, Forlivesi, Giovanni Nicola 262 Hannibal 245, 247
Cifani, Gabriele 163 282, 296 Fortuna 91 Harari, M. 162, 240
Cima Tomb, San Giuliano , , 58 Dobrowolski, W. 163 Forum Boarium 248 Head of Charun, Tomb of the,
Cipollara, sarcophagus of 255 Doganaccia necropolis 24 Forum of Augustus 10 Tarquinia 262
Cipriani, M. 295 Dogtooth Frieze, Tomb of the, Cerveteri Francesca Giustiniani Tomb, Tarquinia Hector 126, 205, 247
Civita (hill of) 24, 25 , , , 42 , 21, , 155, , , 181 Hemelrijk, J. M. 125
Civita (plateau of) 21, 22 Dohrn, Tobias 125, 126, 129, 239, 241 François, Alessandro 237 Hephaistos 60
Cività Castellana see Falerii Dolphins, Tomb of the, François Tomb, Vulci 12, 15, 16, 21, , Heptachord Painter 38, 
Cività Vecchia 33 Populonia 277 187, 189, 191, 192, 195, , 205, 207, 212, Hera 25, 64, 124
Clazomenaen sarcophagi 65, 94, 98, 281 Dolphins, Tomb of the, Vulci 277 , 237, , 239, , 240, 246, 249, Herakles , 123, 125, 126, 181, 209, 241
Cleanthes of Corinth 36, 46 Doors and Cats, Tomb with, 284, 285, 288 Hercules, Temple of 248
Clevsina 259 Tarquinia 89 Frontoncino, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Hermes 290
Clusium-Volaterrae Group 192, 242 Doryphoros 129 66, 90 Hermes/Turms 132
Cneve Tarchunies 238 Douris 125, 138 Full Sakkos Group 242 Hermes Enagonios 103
Cnidus 11 Drukker, A. 126 Funerary Bed, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 15, Hermonax 182
Coarelli, Filippo 185, 237 Ducati, P. 126 , 21, , 133, 134, 139, , ,  Herodotus 10, 22, 64
Cock, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 94, , Ducks, Tomb of the, Veii 15, 21, 33, , 36, Hescana 190, 211, 215
133, 158, ,  , 48 G Hescanas, Tomb of the, Orvieto 15, 16,
Colchis (dragon of) 46 Dying, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, , Ganymedes 183 187, 191, 195, 211, 214, , 218, 250, 260
Colline Metalliferi 32 67, 100 Garampi (Cardinal) 257 Hesione Painter 242
324 INDEX
Hesse Group 279,  Leagros Group 127 Meidias Painter 129, 182, 183, 240 Nikosthenes 125, 126, 205, 290, 291
Hieron 138, 139 Lefkadia 254, 288, , 290 Melanthios 10 Nikoxenos Painter 103
Hill of the Moro, Tomb of the 122 Leinie 190, 211, 212 Meleager Painter 183, 240 Niobid Painter 182
Hoesch, N. 241 Leopards, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Mellink, Machtheld 282 Nola 209, 285, 295, 296
Homer 46, 57, 162, 238 , , 133, ,  Mengarelli, R. 124 Norchia 26, 29, 246, 251, 254, 286
Horsemen, Tomb of the, Arpi  Lernean Hydra 181 Mengarelli Tomb 33,  Northampton Group 126
Hunt, Tomb of the 122 Lesche of the Cnidians (Delphi) 181 Mengarelli Tumulus  Numerius 24
Hunter, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 20, 21, Lion, Tomb of the, Chiusi 15, 21, 121 Mercareccia, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, Nun Painter 242
45, 65, 67, 70, 71, 102, ,  Lionesses, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, , , 20, 248, 249, 250, 253, 262
Hunting and Fishing, Tomb of, 20, 21, , 65, 66, 68, 71, , , 94, , Messerschmidt, F. 14 O
Tarquinia 16, , 21, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 125, 281 Metron 183 Odysseus 142, 209, 210
71, , , 95, , , 153, 281, 282 Lions, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 89 Micali Painter 27, 66, 99, 126, 127,  Ogulnius Gallus, Q. 278
Hunting Pavilion, Tomb of the see Tomb Lion’s Tomb, Lycia 260 Michelangelo 12 Old Man, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 67,
of the Hunter Little Flowers, Tomb of the, Tarquinia Micozzi, Marina 38 68, 100
Hut, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 89 , 140 Mikon 133 Olpae Group 57
Huxley, A. 14 Livy 22, 205, 247 Minetti, Alessandra 215 Oltos 26, 125
Hypnos 158, 182, 209 Lo Scasato, temple of 260 Minotaur 47, 126 Olympic Games, Tomb of the, Tarquinia
Lotus-Flower Group 47 Monkey, Tomb of the, Chiusi 15, 21, 67, 15, , 67, 71, , 92, 98, , , 121,
I Lotus Flower, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 71, , 121, , 163 122, 159
Iervolino, F.  21, 71, , 89 Montagnola Tomb 42 Onesimos 71, 125
Iktinos 129 Louvre E 739, painter of 126 Monte dell’Oro 33 Orbetello Group 127
Ildebranda Tomb 286 Lubtchansky, Natasha 14 Monte Michele 58 Orcus I, Tomb of, Tarquinia 14, , , 21,
Iliupersis Painter 239 Lucian 10 Monte Michele, tomb in 57 186, 187, 188, 190, 192, 194, , 206,
Infernaccio necropolis 24 Ludwig I of Bavaria 12 Monte Sannace 250, 295 , 207, , 210, 212, 214, 218
Infernal Quadriga, Tomb of the, Lycurgus Painter 239 Monte Sanacce, tomb in 256, 286 Orcus II, Tomb of, Tarquinia 12, , 20,
Sarteano 9, 187, 215, , , ,  Lydos 125 Montebradoni Painter 242 187, 188, 189, , 191, 192, 193, 195, ,
Inscriptions, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Lysippus 247 Montediano Painter 242 207, 209, , 210, 212, 214, 248
21, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 89, 92, 98, 100, Lyson and Kallikles, Tomb of, Monteriggioni Painter 242 Orcus III, Tomb of, Tarquinia ,
, 250, 262, 263 Lefkadia 288 Monteroni 33 207, 209
Iphigenia 124 Monterozzi (hill of) 14, 15, 21, 22, 24 Orientalizing Style, Tomb of the 61
Ischia 36 M Monterozzi (necropolis of) 9, 12, 14, , Orpheus and Euridice, Tomb of 122
Isis, Tomb of, Vulci  Maggi Tomb, Tarquinia , 133, 142, 143, 21, 25, 64, 163 Orte 15
Ivy Leaf Group 126 ,  Monti della Tolfa 32 Ortis, Nicola 12
Maggiani, Adriano 185, 210, 213, 214, 255 Montollo Tomb 122 Orvieto 9, 12, 15, 16, 26, 33, 63, 64, 127,
J Magistrate, Sarcophagus of the, Morandi, A. 185, 257 , 129, 130, 131, 153, 163, 182, 183, 185,
Jacobsen, Carl 12 Cerveteri 181 Morandi, M. 185, 190, 207, 211 187, 190, 191, 192, 195, 210, 211, , ,
Jade Lions, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 89 Magistrate, Tomb of the, Capua 251 Moreno, P. 239 , 214, , 215, 218, , 219, ,
Jannot, J. R. 155 Magliano Toscano 9, 15, 42, , , 60, Moretti, Mario 14, 27, 143 237, 240, 241, 242, 245, 249, 250, 260,
Jugglers, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, , 61 Mouse, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 68, , 263, 286
65, 67, , 70, , 71, , 94, , 103, 121, Magliz (Thrace), tomb in 292,  , 90,  Orvieto Group 127
125, 281 Maiden, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Moustafa Pasha necropolis, Tomb I Osteria necropolis 126, 182
Juno Sospita 126 132, 133, 158, , , 161, 162, , 193 (Alexandria) 285, 295 Ostrusha Tomb, Shipka 214, 287, 292, 293
Mainz Painter 242 Munich 833, Painter of 126
K Makron 125, 138 Munich 883 Group 127 P
Kape Mukathesa Group 127 Mantegna, Andrea 11 Munich 892 Group 127 Paccianesi Tomb 122
Karaburun (Lycia), tomb in 65, 281 Marce Camitlnas 238 Murina 190, 207 Pacuvius, Marcus 247
Kazanlak (Thrace), tomb in 214, 285, Marchese, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 89 Murlo 41, 63, 124 Paestum 11, 20, 96, 100, 143, 162, 213, 251,
292,  Mariani, Gregorio 12, , 103, 210,  Murlo-Poggio Civitate 41, 42, 90 254, 279, 282, 284, 285, 286, , 294,
Kestner, August (baron) 12, 96 Maroi Tomb, Cerveteri  Musarna 26, 278,  295, 296, 297, , 
Kithara Player, Tomb of the, Tarquinia Mars of Todi 131 Myra 260 Painted Animals, Tomb of the, Cerveteri
66, 99, 103 Marsiliana d’Albegna 41 , , 44, 57, 58
Kitov, Georgi 294 Marsyas 241 N Painted House see Gordion (Phrygia)
Kızılbel, tomb in (Lycia) 281,  Martelli, Marina 36, 125, 126, 240 Namatianus, Rutilius 22, 24 Painted Lions, Tomb of the, Cerveteri ,
Kleitias 125 Marzabotto 63, 130 Napoli, Mario 282 , 44, , , 57, 58
Klenze (von), Leo 12 Marzi 12 Narce 38, 254 Painted Vases, Tomb of the, Tarquinia ,
Kleophrades Painter 26, 125, 138 Massa-Pairault, Françoise-Hélène 185, Naso, Alessandro 14, 15, , 32, , 33, , 66, 68, , 100
Krauskopf, I. 193 211, 212 , , 42, , , , 64, 185, 255 Paipnas, Arnth 26
Kyknos Painter 127 Master of the Olympic Games, Tomb of Nazzano Painter 241 Pakties 22
the, Tarquinia , 71, 99,  Necropoli delle Grotte 277 Palazzina necropolis 21, 122
L Mater Matuta 91 Necropoli delle Pianezze  Palestrina/Praeneste 41, , , 185,
Labrouste Tomb, Tarquinia 89 Matuna 262 Necropoli di Ponte Rotto 277 192, 245
Lagrasta Hypogeum II 290 Mazzei, Marina 286, 300 Nereids 239, 284,  Pallottino, Massimo 14, 260, 301
Laius 192 Medea 46 Nessos 125 Palm Painter 38
Langlotz, E. 241 Medusa, Tomb of the, Arpi 161, 213, 251, Nestor 238 Palmette Tomb 290–91
Laris Partunu, Sarcophagus of see Priest, 286, 300 Nike (figure of Victory) 247, 284, 300 Pamphilos 10
Sarcophagus of the Meeting, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Nike, Tomb of the, Arpi 300 Pania Tomb 60, 61
Latera 33, 64 189, 212, 250, , 252, 255, , 260, Nikias of Athens 10, 11, 192, 205, 291 Panthers, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 16, ,
Lawrence, D. H. 14, 21 , 297 Nikomachos 11 21, , , 61, 
INDEX 325
Paolozzi Tomb 122 Polykleitos 129 Rubiera 41 Sol 278
Paris 98, 123, 124, , 126 Polynices , 237, 238 Rumpf, Andreas 59 Sommavilla Painter 183, 241
Paris Painter 91, 126 Polyphemus 46, 125, 210 Rupp, W. 260 Sophilos 125
Parrhasios of Ephesus 10, 133, 207 Polyxena 124 Ruspi, Carlo 12, , , 100, , , 103, Soranus 126
Partunu Tomb 240 Pontrandolfo, A. 251, 295 , , 138, , , 155, , , , Sorbo Tomb, Cerveteri 33, 
Partunu 26 Populonia 15, 32, 41, 64, 182, 183, 241, 242, 260,  Sorbo Tumulus 
Pasquinucci, M. 240 245, 248, 277, , 278,  Rutile Hipukrate 46 Soriano nel Cimino 33
Passo della Sibilla, Veii  Porano 15, 211 Ruyt (F. de) 194 Sostratus of Aegina 22, 64
Patroclus 192, 237 Porcia 205, 247 Sovana 29, 37, 237, 246, 286
Pausanias 10, 99 Porsenna 218 S Speranza Tumulus, Cerveteri 
Pausias 10, 287, 293 Portonaccio, temple of 124 Sacchetti, Federica 194 Spina 131, 132, 142, 182, 191, 194
Pegasus 282 Poseidon 241 Salus, Temple of 248, 300 Spina-Gaudo necropolis (Tomb 87) 
Peirithoos 209 Poseidonia see Paestum San Andrea, Tomb of, Magliano in Spina Painter 278
Peleus 241 Potideia, tomb in 290 Toscano , , 60, , 61 Spinazzo necropolis 213, 251, 286, 297, 
Pella 11, 290, 294 Poulsen, V. 14 San Giovenale 33, 42 Spinazzo Tomb I, 251
Penthesilea Painter 129, 142, 182 Pranzovico 163 San Giuliano 15, 26, 33, 42, , , 58 Spivey, N. J. 125, 127
Pergamon 10, 11, 12, 205, 245, 259, 260 Praxias Painter 182 Santa Maria di Faleri see Falerii novi Spuriana, Arath 70, 91
Pericles 129 Priest, Sarcophagus of the, 187, , 192, Sant’Omobono, shrine of 91 Spurianas, Araz Silqetenas 91
Persephone/Phersipnei 70, 181, 188, , 238, 240,  Sarcophagi, Tomb of the, Cerveteri 249, Spurina 22, 190, 207, 209, 257
209, 212, 242, 263, 277, 290 Primi Archi 21 262, 277 Stackelberg (von), Otto Magnus 12
Persephone, Tomb of 290 Procession of Cybele, Tomb with the 262 Sarteano 9, 15, 21, 64, 122, 187, 215, , , Stangl, M. 70
Perseus 123, 241 Protogenes 10 218,  Ste. Monique necropolis (Carthage) 240
Perugia 9, 96, 185, 188, 207, 237, 245, 246, Psiax 125 Sarteano Painter 242 Stefani, E. 163
251, 257, 259, 260, 282, 286 Ptolemy II 289 Satie 190 Stefani Tomb, Tarquinia 45, 67, 89
Perugia Painter 183, 241 Pulcinella, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Saties, Vel , 189, 238 Steingräber, S. 14
Pescia Romana , 37 , 94, 100 Schulz, Louis 12,  Stopponi, S. 140
Pescia Romana Painter 47, 60 Pulena 26 Scipio 22 Strabo 22
Péslinei, Vela 261 Pumpu 26, 190, 248, 259, 260 Scipio Barbatus, sarcophagus of 205 Street Side, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 
Petsas Tomb (Lefkadia) , 290 Pumpu, Arnth 259 Scipio tomb (Via Appia), Rome 300 Styx 282
Petronius 10 Pumpu, Laris 250, 260 Sculptures, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Suetonius 70
Pfrommer, Michael 288 Pygmies, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 155, 20, 248, 260 Sun and the Moon, Tomb of the, Vulci 58
Phersu , 93, 94, 99, 100, , 159,  161, , 162, 186, 297 Scylla 260 Suri 25
Phidias 129 Pyrgi (Temple A) 64, 131, 185 Sea, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 89 Swallow Painter , 47
Philip II of Macedonia 11, 286, 290 Pyrrhicist, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 100 Sea Waves, Tomb of the, Cerveteri 262, Syracuse 22, 205, 207, 247
Philoxenos 291 Pyrrhus 288, 300 263, 277 Szilagyi, J.-G. 46
Philoxenos of Eretria 10 Secondi Archi 15, 21
Phintias 26, 103, 125 Q Seithiti, Velia , 210 T
Phoenician Palmette Group 47 Quartaccio 124 Selciatello di Sopra necropolis 22 Tages 21
Phoenix 238 Quarto degli Archi necropolis 22 Selciatello necropolis 22 Talamone 245
Pian Miano 237 Querciola Tomb I, Tarquinia , 133, 142, Selvans 25 Talos Painter 241
Pianacce necropolis 215 155, , , 161, 162, 163, 181 Semele 98 Tanaquil 22
Piano San Nicola 24 Querciola Tomb II, Tarquinia 248, 251, Semper, Gottfried 12 Tapestry, Tomb of the, 250, 253, 258
Pianu, G. P. 240 260,  Sentina 259 Tarantola Tomb, Tarquinia 71, 90
Piero della Francesca 291 Quinto Fiorentino 41, 42 Serra Ridgway, Francesca 28, 185, 192, 246 Tarchna 263
Pilaster and Female Figure, Tomb with, Settecamini Painter 241 Tarchon 21
Tarquinia 187, 210, 212 R Settecamini tombs 242 Tarentine tombs 295, 
Pinie 190, 248, 254 Rastrelli, Anna 122 Shields and Seats, Tomb of the, Tarentum 10, 11, 192, 205, 206, 239, 240,
Pinies, Vel 254 Red Lions, Master of the 89–90 Cerveteri, 254 247, 248, 250, 252, 253, 254, 256, 260,
Pisatis 46 Red Lions, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , Shields, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 162, 287, 288, 295, 296, 297, 300
Pitigliano 37 89,  187, 188, , 189, 190, 193, , 207, Tarquinii (royal dynasty of) 21
Pitt Rivers Painter 183 Regae/Regisvilla 64 210, , 212, 213, , 242, 250, 257, Tarquinius Priscus 21–22
Plato 10 Regolini Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri , 60 260, 263 Tartaglia Tomb, Tarquinia 191, 262
Pliny the Elder 9, 10, 36, 41, 42, 122, 192, Reliefs, Tomb of the, Cerveteri 16, 20, Ship, Tomb of the, Cerveteri , 57 Tartarli, tomb in 281
218, 247, 252, 300 248, 250, 251, 254, , 260, 262, 288 Ship, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 15, , 57, Tassinaia Tomb, Chiusi 277, 286
Plutarch 10, 205, 247 Rendeli, M. 181 143, 153, , ,  Terreno Maggi 261
Pocala Group  Rendini, Paola 60 Ship, Tomb with 262 Thanatos 132, 158, 182, 209
Poggi Gallinaro necropolis 22, 24 Ricci Hydria 98, 126 Sikyon, school of 10, 42 Thanchvil Anei, sarcophagus of 261
Poggio Buco 36, 37 Ripe Sant’Angelo necropolis 286 Silenus Painter 126 Theodotus 91
Poggio Civitella 246 Riserva del Bagno 36 Silius Italicus 251 Theon of Samos 10
Poggio del Forno necropolis 24 Rix, Helmut 214 Sillax of Rhegion 133 Theseus/These 37, 126, 182, ,
Poggio Gaiella, Tomb of 122 Rizzo, M. A. 36 Simon, E. 91, 95, 98, 126 209, 
Poggio Renzo 61 Romualdi, Antonella 277 Siren, Tomb of the, Sovana 29 Thetis 241
Poggio Renzo Tomb, Chiusi 60 Roncalli, Francesco 36, 71, 123 Sisyphus/Sispes 191, 209, 238 Thiersch, H. 125
Pola Tomb 286 Roshava Chouka tumulus, Haskovo Skull, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 71, 99 Thucydides 10
Pollux 240 294,  Smuglewicz, Franciszek 12, 163, 210, Thuflthas 26
Polybius 10, 69, 191 Rosoni Group 57 253, 257 Tiné Bertocchi, Fernanda 295
Polychrome Arches, Painter of the 47 Rouveret, Agnes 10, 295 Sokra Group 242 Tiresias , 209
Polygnotos of Thasos 10, 129, 133, 181 Rubertis, R. (de) 215 Sokra[tes] 242 Tityos Painter 89, 126
326 INDEX
Tiu 248, 277 Tomb 5512 (Double Tomb), Tarquinia , U Virgil 191, 209
Tolfa 33 212, 250, , 260, 288 UNESCO 214 Vitelleschi, Cardinal 21
Tolfa Group 126 Tomb 5513, Tarquinia , 21, 133, 134, , Urinates, Vel 237 Vitelleschi family 12
Tomb Porzarago 9 42 138,  Urna Calabresi, Cerveteri  Vitelleschi Painter 47
Tomba Dei see Grotta Dipinta Tomb 5517, Tarquinia , 133, 161 Urna Calabresi Workshops 46 Viterbo 33, 58, 131, 254, 
Tomb 1000, Tarquinia  Tomb 5580 261 Uşak (Lydia), tomb in 65, 281, , 282 Vitruvius 10, 16, 63
Tomb 1144, Tarquinia , 161, 162 Tombe 5591, Tarquinia , , 71, 99 Volsinii Novi see Bolsena
Tomb 1200, Tarquinia , 161 Tomb 5636, Tarquinia , 251, 252, , V Volsinii Veteres see Orvieto
Tomb 123 Taranto (Spinazzo 261, ,  Vaccareccia, tumulus of 57 Volterra 9, 162, 185, 188, 189, 192, 210,
necropolis)  Tomb 5892, Tarquinia  Vanth 132, 188, 192, 193, 253, 254, 257, 237, 240, 242, 245, 246, 251, 260, 278
Tomb 13, Sarteano 21, 122 Tomb 5898, Tarquinia , 71 261,  Vulca 64
Tomb 1560, Tarquinia , 133, 161 Tomb 5899, Tarquinia  Vanth Group 192, 218, , , 242 Vulci 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 26, 33, 36, 37, 38,
Tomb 1646, Tarquinia , 89 Tomb 6071, Tarquinia , 133, 161 Varnie 140 41, 44, , 46, , 47, 58, 63, 64, 89,
Tomb 1822, Tarquinia , 161 Tomb 6120, Tarquinia 89 Vasanello 33 124, 125, 126, , 132, 182, 183, 185,
Tomb 1999, Tarquinia , 67, 68 Tomb 65 Laghetto  Vatican 238, Painter of (Kaineus , 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 195, ,
Tomb 2006, Cerveteri  Tomb 808, Tarquinia , 90, 161, 162 Painter) 127 205, 207, 212, , 237, 238, , ,
Tomb 2015, Tarquinia , 161 Tomb 810, Tarquinia , 133, 139, 140 Vatican 265 Group 127 241, 242, 245, 246, 248, 249, 250, 257,
Tomb 2327 (Bertazzoni Tomb), Tomb 939, Tarquinia , 89 Veii 9, 12, 15, 21, 33, , 36, 38, 41, 42, 43, , 259, 260, , 277, 279, , 281, 284,
Tarquinia , 162, 186,  Tomb 994, Tarquinia , 133, 140 44, 46, 47, , 57, 58, , 60, 61, 63, 64, 285, 288
Tomb 3010, Tarquinia , 89 Torcop Group 242 122, 124, 129, 185, 211, 254
Tomb 3011, Tarquinia , 89 Torelli, Mario 69, 89, 95, 102, 133, 163, 185, Vel Urinates, sarcophagus of 237 W
Tomb 3098, Tarquinia , 71, 89 187, 190, 191, 207, 209, 211, 247, 254, Velcha 14, 26, 190, 210 Warrior, Tomb of the, Tarquinia ,
Tomb 3242 (dei Loculi), Tarquinia , 277, 278 Velcha, Arnth 207 24, 37, 132, 140, 161, 162, 186, 193,
162, 186,  Torlonia 15, 237 Velcha, Larth , 210, 211 , 
Tomb 356, Tarquinia , 89 Torre San Severo, sarcophagus of 192 Velcha, Larth, sarcophagus of 211 Wave Frieze, Tomb of the, Populonia
Tomb 3697, Tarquinia , 133, 161 Tragliatella 46 Velcha, Velthur , 210,  277, 
Tomb 3713, Tarquinia , 133, 158 Trevignano 33, 57, 59 Velia/Elea 205 Weber-Lehmann, C. 12, 14, 71, 91, 133,
Tomb 3716, Tarquinia , 133, 158 Triclinium, Tomb of the, Cerveteri 213, Velia (lovely) 14, , , 207 185, 239
Tomb 3986, Tarquinia , 89 248, 249, 262, 263,  Velthur 255 Weege, F. 14
Tomb 3988, Tarquinia , 140 Triclinium, Tomb of the, Tarquinia 15, , Velthur, Avle 209 Well at Poggio Renzo, Tomb of the 122
Tomb 4, Paestum  , , 133, 134, , 138, , 139, , Velthur Partunus, Sarcophagus of, Whipping, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21,
Tomb 4021, Tarquinia , 133, 139 140, 142,  Tarquinia 192 67, 71, 99, 100, , 
Tomb 4170, Tarquinia , 143 Tritons, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 89 Velthur Spurinas 22, 207 Wiel Marin, Federica 27
Tomb 4255, Tarquinia , 66, 71, 99, 133 Troilus , 91, , 126 Velzna see Orvieto Woman with Diadem and Cymbals, and
Tomb 4260, Tarquinia , 99, 133 Tsimbidou-Avloniti, Maria 214, 291 Vercna 190, 211, 212 Man Riding Elephant, Tomb with,
Tomb 4467, Tarquinia  Tuchulcha 192, 193, 209, , 262 Vergina 11, 254, 285, , 290 Tarquinia 262
Tombe 45, Vulci 182 Tumulus X, tomb under 124 Verres 247
Tomb 4780, Tarquinia , 71, 90 Turmuca Group 242 Verucchio 41, 60 Z
Tomb 4813, Tarquinia , 132, 140 Tuscan Column, painter of the 242 Vespasian 70 Zannoni Stele 60
Tomb 4836 261 Tuscania 15, 21, 26, 33, 245, 248 Vestarcnie 248, 257 Zanoni, I. 70
Tomb 4912 (Tomb of the Four Typhon, Tomb of the, Tarquinia , 21, Vetulonia 32, 41, 245, 246, 251 Zeus 129, 183
Figurines), Tarquinia , 252, 261 205, 207, 212, , 246, 247, , 248, Vezza River (valley of the) 163, 218 Zeus Ammon 285
Tomb 50 of the Vecchio Recinto, 250, 252, 256, 258, 259, 260, , 261, Via degli Inferi, Tomb of the, Zeus-Tinia 210
Cerveteri  , 277 Cerveteri  Zeuxis 133, 207
Tomb 5039, Tarquinia , 90 Tyrrhenian Group 125 Via San Leonardo, temple of 131 Zeuxis of Heraclea 10
Tomb 5203, Terreno Maggi 261 Tyrrhenus 21 Villa Giulia 1755 Painter 241 Züst Collection 43
INDEX 327
Photographic Credits
Araldo De Luca Archives, Rome: 184, 231, 232–233, 236, 239

(top below)
Photographic Archives of the Musei Capitolini, Rome: 44
Private archives: 280, 283, 284, 285, 289 (top and bottom), 290, 291, 292–293, 294 (top and bottom)
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome:
23, 24–25, 28, 53, 54–55, 58, 61, 67 (left and right), 68 (top and bottom), 69, 70 (left, center, right), 71 (right), 73,
74–75, 76–77, 78–79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89 (left and right), 90, 91 (top and bottom), 92–93, 94, 95 (left and right),
96 (top and bottom), 98 (top and bottom), 100 (top), 101 (bottom), 102 (top), 103 (left and right), 121 (top right),
129, 131, 134, 135, 136–137 (bottom), 138 (bottom), 139 (bottom), 142 (bottom) 143 (top and bottom), 148, 149, 155,
156–157, 158 (top), 159 (bottom), 160, 161, 165, 170–171, 174, 176, 186 (top), 186 (bottom left and right), 188, 189, 193,
194, 195 (bottom), 197, 206, 207, 210 (bottom left and right), 211, 212, 222–223, 239 (top above), 244, 245, 247,
248–249, 250, 253, 254, 255 (top), 256, 257 (bottom), 258, 259, 260, 261, 265, 266–267, 272, 273, 276
Foundation for the “Claudio Faina” Museum, Orvieto: 127, 218 (bottom), 219
Ministry of Culture, Department of Archeology, Umbria: 214
Ministry of Culture, Department of Archeology, Latium: cover, 37 (top), 39, 45, 71 (bottom, center), 86–87, 88, 97,
100 (bottom), 101 (top), 102 (bottom), 105, 106–107, 112, 113, 114–115, 116, 118, 119, 128, 130, 132 (left top and bottom,
right), 133, 136–137 (top), 138 (top), 139 (top), 140, 141 (top and bottom), 142 (top), 145, 146–147, 150–151, 152, 153
(top), 158 (bottom), 159 (top), 166, 167, 168–169, 175, 187 (top and bottom), 210 (top), 240, 241, 243, 246, 252, 257
(top), 262, 270–271, 274–275
Ministry of Culture, Department of Archeology, Florence: 52, 59, 60, 117, 119, 120, 121 (top left, bottom left, bottom
right), 122 (left and right), 190, 215, 216–217, 218 (top), 227, 228–229, 230, 234, 235, 239 (bottom), 277 (left and right)
Archeological Museum of Maremma, Grosseto: 30
Takashi Okamura: 17, 40, 50–51, 56, 99 (bottom), 108–109, 110–111, 154, 163, 172–173, 177, 178–179, 180, 181, 183
Stephan Steingräber: 8, 64 (left and right), 123, 195 (top), 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 208, 209, 221, 237 (top left),
238 (top left and right), 278 (left and right), 286, 287, 288, 295 (left and right), 296–297, 298–299, 300 (left and
right), 301
© Leonard von Matt Archive: 251, 255 (bottom), 268–269
© Municipality of Milan, all rights reserved: 37 (bottom)
© 1985 by Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Tokyo. Reprinted by permission of the publisher: 13, 18–19, 34–35, 49, 99
(top), 213 (top and bottom), 224, 225, 226, 251, 255 (bottom), 268–269
© photo RMN-Herve Lewandowski: 62, 63, 65
© The Trustees of the British Museum: 125, 279
328 PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS

Stephan
Steingräber
Abundance of Life
Abundance
of Life
B  R I
Domus
 pages
 pages

 pages
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu

Printed in Italy
Stephan
Steingräber
Abundance of Life
Abundance
of Life
B  R I
Domus
 pages
 pages

 pages
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu

Printed in Italy

Etruskische Wandmalerei PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Etruskische Wandmalerei PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Stephan

Etruscan Wall Painting

-: --- On the front cover:

Etruscan Wall Painting

-: --- On the front cover:

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Italian edition © 2006 Arsenale Editrice, Verona, Italy Front endpapers:

Los Angeles, CA 90049-1682 of youths with instruments, drinking vessels, and

www.getty.edu other objects, ca. 480 ..

Mark Greenberg, Editor in Chief

Ann Lucke, Managing Editor

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

9 Introduction 306 Chronology

31 The Beginnings: 314 Glossary

185 The Great Changes:

245 Final Flowering and Conclusion:

281 From Asia Minor to Magna Graecia,

●▲◆■ = 1 tomb Veio

●▲◆■ = 2–3 tombs

1. T. 3716 18. T. of the Gorgoneion (1825) 35. T. 3988

Cerveteri, Tomb of the Dogtooth Frieze: longitu-

Cerveteri, Sorbo Tomb and Tomb of the Dogtooth

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 41

42 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

Selection of palmette motifs from the Orientalizing

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 43

44 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 45

46 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

Right: Cerveteri, Tomb of the Painted Lions, right-

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 47

Below: San Giuliano, Cima Tomb: ground plan,

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 57

Above: Cerveteri, Campana Tomb 1: ground plan

Right: Veii, Campana Tomb: painted back wall of

58 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 59

60 ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES

ASIAN AND CORINTHIAN INFLUENCES 61

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 63

64 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

Paris, Louvre: Caeretan hydria with depiction of

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 65

Leoni Rossi n. 3986 Leoni di Giada n. 1646 Leonesse Giocolieri

Fiore di Loto n. 3098

66 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

Left: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bacchantes, left wall:

Right: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers: section of

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 67

Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Mouse: section

68 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 69

70 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 71

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 89

90 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

Below: Tarquinia, Tomb of the Bulls, back wall of

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 91

92 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 93

Tarquinia, Tomb of the Lionesses, back wall: base

94 THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE”

THE FIRST MAJOR FLOWERING AND THE “IONIC KOINE” 95