- chapter 19: Etruscan goods in the Mediterranean world –
Figure 19.6 Tripod brought up from the sea off Cape Agde, Languedoc. Cast bronze, a letter incised
on the back of one of the appliqué fi gures, beginning of the fi fth century. (drawing G.-A.).Metallic vasesEtruscan bronze vessels are well represented in the western Mediterranean and in
the European hinterland, even though vases in precious metals have not been clearly
identifi ed. The cup of Kameiros (Rhodes), in heavy silver with gold plating and now in
the Louvre, shows a characteristic carinated profi le and two neatly raised handles which
identify the object as a luxurious version of an Etruscan kantharos (Fig. 19.7). However,
this cup was probably made in a workshop on Rhodes.^40 The gilded silver mesomphalic
phiale from the tomb at Vix may be either an Etruscan creation, or the result of Etruscan
infl uence, and likewise a similar piece in gold from Apremont (Gray) in Haute-Saône.^41
Pouring vessels are the primary Etruscan bronze exports, distributed as much by sea
as by land. Late seventh- and early sixth-century Rhodian-style oinochoai discovered in
western Europe appear likely to be of Etruscan manufacture.^42 These oinochoai appear
in the Celtic hinterland at Kappel and Vilsingen (Inzigkofen, Sigmaringen, Baden-
Württemberg), and in the Rhône corridor in the region of Vienne and in the tomb of
Pertuis (Vaucluse). In the western Mediterranean, Rhodian-style oinochoai of apparent
Etruscan manufacture have been found in Carthage and in the southern Iberian Peninsula
(Grenada-Malaga and Huelva), while other oinochoai of a more clearly Orientalizing style
correspond to local productions, both Phoenico-Punic and Tartessian.^43 Schnabelkannen,
oinochoai with long spouts, from the second half of the sixth and fi fth centuries, are
the most numerous Etruscan bronzes among the exports: there are some one hundred
examples north of the Alps, with a primary concentration in the Rhine region of the
Hunsrück-Eiffel Culture.^44 In the distribution of Schnabelkannen in the Mediterranean,
the concentrations in Aléria and Carthage truly stand out, complemented by some