CHAPTER FORTY SIX

MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

IN ETRURIA

Fredrik Tobin

INTRODUCTION

Figure 46.1 Terracotta plaque type C from Acquarossa, second quarter of sixth century bce.

Courtesy of the Swedish Institute in Rome.

E

ven though we have no evidence of Etruscan musical notation and will never know
the details of how Etruscan music sounded, quite a lot can be said about the way in
which music and instruments fi gured in Etruscan society. And, while a defi nitive study
of music and instruments in Etruria has yet to be published, there has recently been a lot
of scholarly writing on the subject.^1 Just as in many other aspects of Etruscan culture, the
evidence is fragmentary but enticing. Our knowledge of Etruscan music and instruments
draws on a variety of sources that can be divided into three broad categories; images,
archaeological evidence and texts.
The importance of images for our understanding of Etruscan culture has long been
recognized and the rich and often multifaceted Etruscan imagery presents interpretative
opportunities as well as challenges. The basic problem is that ancient images do not need
to have a “one-to-one” relationship to ancient reality. The instruments that are most
commonly seen in paintings are not necessarily the ones that were most common in real
life nor do the instruments in images need to look exactly like they did in real life.^2 This