- chapter 48: Foreign artists in Etruria –
(see Fig. 5.9 no. 11). Characterized by a bulging belly and elongated, asymmetrical
straight neck, they must have held some valued beverage meant to be poured sparingly
in special ceremonies. Their distribution in Etruria is distinctive, evident by the fact that
one to fi ve examples are found in different centers: Caere, Tarquinia, Vulci, Bisenzio,
Populonia, Volterra, whereas more than 40 are found in Vetulonia and its territory. These
last, according to typological and chemical-physical examination, may be divided into
two groups, those originals made in Sardinia, and local imitations (Cygielman – Pagnini
2002; Delpino 2002). The high number may be explained by the arrival in Vetulonia of
groups of Sardinians, engaged in procedures of mining and metallurgy, activities which
had been underway in Sardinia for a few centuries, and which were then being developed
at Vetulonia (Camporeale 1998, pp. 42–43). The Sardinians continued to practice familiar
customs in their new place of residence. We may ask whether among them there was not
perhaps a potter commencing production at Vetulonia (see Chapter 5).
In the Etruscan decorative repertoire of the eighth century bc (Villanovan facies,
evolved phase) the motif of Sun-ship becomes popular: a horizontal element with
upright ends that terminate in bird-protomes, the hull curved with room for the
sun-disc; this is worked on sheet-bronze in repoussé technique with punched dots
and bosses. In this typology and technique, the motif may be traced back to the fi nal
phase of the Urnfi elds culture of the Carpathian-Danube region, where it must have
had symbolic meaning: the cult of the sun, allusion to the voyage of the star with
alternation of day and night (Camporeale 2012, with previous bibliography). A closely-
dated example from Etruria is found in a bronze biconical vase from tomb AA1 of the
Quattro Fontanili necropolis of Veii, a tomb with a rich set of offerings dated to Veii
phase IIB 1 (Franco – Mallet – Wacher 1970, especially p. 300, n. 17, Figs 72–73). In
such cases the most obvious interpretation is that a transalpine master has moved into
Etruria (Camporeale 2012). It is not out of the question that the motif here retains
the same symbolic meaning that it had in its homeland. In Etruria, the same motif,
also sometimes a bit degenerate, had a continued life: it reappears on other vases on
sheet-bronze, in the lids/roofs of hut-urns, the cheek-pieces of horse-bits, the handles
of razors and censers, shield-pendants, sheet-bronze coverings of wooden cistae, and
handles of cups (Camporeale 2012). And so it is clear that foreign masters are not only
active in Etruria, but they are training other artisans.
Among Etruscan grave goods of the eighth century bc, objects made of amber are
relatively common, usually in the form of human or animal fi gures or (necklaces of)
beads of various types, especially in certain centers: Veii, Falerii, Vetulonia, Verucchio
(cf. Fig. 15.12) (Massaro 1943; Negroni Catacchio 1989, pp. 661–680; Forte 1994). The
subsequent history of these products is linked to the exotic and precious character of the
material and – perhaps at that time – to the belief in their apotropaic and therapeutic
value (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 37.11.44; 37.12.51). The raw amber originated in Baltic northern
Europe, but the large number of pieces found in Etruria and the choice of ornament of
the typically native objects (for example beads covering the bows of fi bulae) indicate
that they were made locally. In all likelihood the fi rst workshops in the various Etruscan
centers would have been founded and operated by north-European masters, experts in
the treatment of amber who had arrived along with the raw material and tools necessary
for working it. The tradition could have been continued by local apprentices. The amber
certainly arrived in Etruria in the rough, but even in this state its magical- and market-
values were recognized, given that we see unworked pieces in some funerary offerings, for