Orientalizing Art
Despite the distinctive character of Etruscan art, the history and stylistic divisions generally follow the divisions seen within Greek art history and stylistic developments. The Etruscans established contact with Eastern cultures, including Greeks, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, around 700 BCE, and this marks the beginning of the Orientalizing period of their culture. As is similar to the Greek Orientalizing period, the art of this period in Etruria reflects Eastern themes and motifs. The patterning and depictions of animals were common— especially lions, leopards, and mythological composite creatures such as sphinxes and griffins.
Gold and Ivory
The Etruscans were master metalsmiths and mined various ores including iron, tin, copper, silver, and gold; they even smelted bronze to work with. Artists who worked with metal were extremely talented and developed unique skills and specialized techniques, including granulation and repoussé.
Gold ornaments and jewelry depict both of these techniques, demonstrating the Etruscans’ precision when working with gold to create intricate designs and patterns in incredibly fine detail. The gold jewelry that came from a wealthy Etruscan family’s tomb (the Regolini-Galassi tomb), including an enormous gold fibula and golden bracelets that date from 650–600 BCE, displays these techniques.
The elaborate and intricate metalwork was not isolated to the Orientalizing period but continued to be created by the Etruscans through the next several centuries. A gold reel, possibly an earring stud, from the early fourth century BCE represents the combination of both the hammered relief of repoussé as well as the careful and precise fusing of tiny gold granules. The work also shows lingering, oriental-inspired designs that depict repetitive images of Pegasus and the chimera. Another earring from the Archaic period combines repoussé and granulation with glass beads and intricate, patterned designs.
Other objects besides the gold jewelry found in the Regolini-Galassi tomb demonstrate the Orientalizing influences on Etruscan art. An ivory pyxis, which appears to imitate a Phoenician style, has a clearly Etruscan origin.
The ivory was imported into the region, likely from an Eastern source. The reliefs are carved in an Etruscan style, with egg-shaped human heads and distinctly thin, straight noses and oval eyes. The sphinxes on the lid and on the bottom register, as well as the frieze of animals at the top, reflect the Eastern theme. The middle register depicts a procession of horses and chariots.
