Etruscan art

Velia Velcha, on the wall of the Tomb of Orcus, Necropoli dei Monterozzi in Tarquinia. 4th century BC

At center, infernal daemon represented as a Wolf-man. According to some scholars, this figure represents the soul of a man bound to the world of the dead. The Etruscan demonizing conception transforms this figure in a man-wolf, a daemon-wolf. Therefore the "monster" could be identified as a restless soul: primarily the spirit of people who had not received a ritual burial, or who had died violently or prematurely. See the cinerary urn - Volterra, Museo Guarnacci - depicting an enchained…

In this gallery, we showcase 25 pieces of art produced by the Etruscan civilization which flourished in central Italy between the 8th and 3rd century BCE. Etruscan art is celebrated for its vitality...

This ancient Etruscan sarcophagus happens to be one of the prize objects in the Museum of Fine Arts, and it’s as moving a testament to love as I can imagine. Carved from travertine, it’s around 2,300 years old, and its lid holds a married couple carved in an eternal embrace. Designed for Larth Tetnies and his wife, Thanchvil Tarnai, it’s actually one of a pair of large sarcophagi at the MFA, both of which have recently undergone two years of scrupulously attentive conservation. (Every…

Many folks see the Etruscan civilization as merely a segue, a follow up to the Greeks and a foreshadowing to the Romans. But casting this ancient society as a sideline character might not do them enough justice.

Etruscan bronze statue of the winged Vanth; angel of the hades holding a serpent, circa 300BC British museum

CIRCA EARLY 7TH CENTURY B.C.