- Adrian P. Harrison –
Table 60.1 Classifi cation system adopted and animals listed.
Classifi cation Animals
A I dog, cat, cockerel, partridge
A II bull, mule, horse, ram, sheep, cattle (oxen), goat
B I swan, geese, owl, partridge, eagle, heron and others
B II deer, hare, boar, stag, snake, deer calf (fawn), mouse, tortoise
B III dolphin, tuna, frog, turtle, fi sh, octopus
C I not represented in Etruscan art
C II ostrich, lion, leopard, panther, monkey, elephant
C III tridacna shell
D I griffi n, winged horse, harpies, winged lion, typhon
D II sphinx, centaur, satyr, chimera, 3-headed dog (cerberus), wolf-man, gorgon
D III sea-monster (undefi ned), hippocamp, ketos, skylla
Sadly, the vicissitudes of preservation, display and publication preclude a thorough statistical
analysis of the frequency or popularity of species in early Etruria, however, some animals are so
commonly depicted that we may be sure they were everyday sights (horse, dog, waterfowl) or are
acknowledged symbols of power or authority.
Of course this source material is biased in that it is mostly items from wealthy Etruscan
families that have survived, and if this skew was not enough, museum curators have
further selected the material on display in favor of complete, exotic, unique and elaborate
pieces. Sadly, such biases are diffi cult to remove and the reader must therefore bear in
mind that any results from this classifi cation of Etruscan animal motifs and conclusions
drawn therefrom may not be entirely representative of the whole of Etruscan society at
any one period in time.
MuseumsThis classifi cation is based on material located at, and published or on display in some
30 museums and art galleries around the world. These include: Museo Archeologico
Arezzo, the British Museum, Florence Archaeological Museum, Villa Giulia in Rome,
Vatican Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Musée du Louvre in Paris, Poggio Civitate Museum
Murlo, the Palatine Antiquarium in Rome, Bologna Museo Civico Archeologico, Munich
Antikensammlung, Pigorini Museum in Rome, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen,
Nationalmuseet Copenhagen, University of Pennsylvania Museum Philadelphia, Chiusi
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Tarquinia Museo Nazionale, Walters Art Gallery in
Baltimore, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Hermitage Museum in St
Petersburg, the Martin von Wagner Museum Würzburg, Palermo Museo Nazionale,
Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, Villa Albani in