Chapter VIII
. Some years ago it was noticed by the late F. Dümmler[2317] that there were in many museums examples of a class of vases which stood in close relation to the Caeretan hydriae, yet were obviously a different fabric. Having collected and examined these vases, he was able to demonstrate satisfactorily that they were direct imitations by the Etruscans of the Caeretan hydriae,[2318] thereby proving at the same time that the latter were imported from other sources (_sc._ Ionia), and not, as had hitherto been supposed, themselves of Italian origin. It is not unlikely that the Ionic influence in Etruria is due to the Phocaean migration of 544 B.C.; on reaching Italy the Ionian fugitives would naturally hand on their art-traditions there.
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PLATE LVIII
[Illustration: ETRUSCAN IMITATIONS OF GREEK VASES (BRITISH MUSEUM).]
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These Etruscan vases are not exclusively hydriae, some being amphorae, others kyathi; but they all bear the unmistakable stamp of Etruscan art in the drawing of the figures and other small details, such as the treatment of the incised lines. It will further be noticed that the drawing is in most cases quite free from archaism, figures being often drawn in full face or correct profile; and this consequently proves that they belong to a considerably later date than the fabrics which they imitate, although the figures are always in black on a red ground. The style in some cases is not unlike that of the later Panathenaic amphorae of the fourth century, and may also be compared with some of the bronze cistae from Palestrina. Accessory pigments are rare, and the incised lines are sketchy and careless; great prominence is given to the bands of ornament bordering the designs, this being a feature borrowed from the Caeretan hydriae. On a large amphora in the British Museum (B 64) the characteristic Caeretan band of lotos-flowers and palmettes is exactly reproduced, though in black instead of polychrome.[2319] Other typical ornaments are the maeander and chevrons; ivy-leaves and sprigs shooting up from the ground; lotos-buds, and wreaths of all kinds. The subjects are limited in range, and thoroughly Etruscan in feeling; Pegasi and beardless Centaurs with human forelegs, Bacchic subjects, and genre scenes, such as athletic contests, combats, or funeral ceremonies (Plate LVIII.), almost complete the list. The turned-up shoes and the pointed _tutuli_ worn by the women, as well as the physiognomy of the figures, with their receding foreheads, are all characteristically Etruscan, though the two former details are borrowed from Ionia.[2320] The shapes of the vases are heavy and inartistic, and the effect altogether unpleasing. A list of the principal examples is here appended.[2321]
When at last the imitative instincts of the Etruscans did in course of time impel them to turn their fancy to copying the red-figured vases, we find the same characteristics reproduced. The number of such imitations is not large, but they are unmistakable, not only from the style, but from the pale yellow clay, dull black glaze, and bizarre character of the ornamentation. Nevertheless, in some cases fairly good results are obtained, as in the B.M. kylix F 478, which in its interior design at all events is an obvious attempt to imitate the work of the great Athenian kylix-painters. The artist seems to have learned his art from the school of Hieron and Brygos, but his Etruscan instincts are revealed in the over-elaboration and stiff mannerisms of the drawing. The Museum also possesses a very fine krater from Falerii (F 479), which appears to be an example of a local school,[2322] imitating the red-figured vases of the “fine” period and large style. But these comparatively successful imitations are exceptional.
The other red-figured Etruscan vases are far inferior, and are executed in a style which none can fail to recognise. It is dry and lifeless in the extreme, the drawing helpless, and the whole effect repulsive and disagreeable, as is so often the case with Etruscan art. These vases are not earlier than the third century B.C., and may be later. In them we observe, besides Greek mythological subjects, the introduction of local deities such as Charun and Ker. The British Museum possesses some ten examples of this class, in addition to the two already described. The most interesting is a krater (F 480 = Plate LVIII.), with, on one side, the death of Aktaeon, designated by his Etruscan name _Ataiun_; on the other, Ajax, designated _Aifas_, throwing himself upon his sword, after the award of the armour of Achilles.
Another vase of this class has for its subject the farewell of Admetos and Alkestis,[2323] with Etruscan inscriptions accompanying the figures, and a speech issuing from the mouth of one of them. Behind Admetos is one of the demons of the Etruscan hell, probably intended for Hades or Thanatos, wearing a short tunic and holding in each hand a snake. Behind Alkestis is Charun with his mallet. On another vase found at Vulci[2324] Ajax is represented slaying a Trojan prisoner in the presence of Charun; and on the reverse the latter appears again with Penthesileia and two other women. On a third[2325] Leda is represented showing Tyndareus the egg from which Helen and Klytaemnestra were destined to be born; it is inscribed _Elinai_, the Etruscan form of Helen.
The latest specimens of these fabrics, which have been found at Orvieto and Orbetello, positively degenerate into barbarism[2326]; the figures are carelessly and roughly painted, and white is extensively used as an accessory, as in the later Apulian and Campanian vases. The subjects are usually borrowed from the infernal regions, and the gruesome figure of Charun is common.
Inscriptions on Etruscan vases are rare as compared with Greek, and in many cases have only been scratched in after the vase was made. There are also instances of imported Greek vases on which Etruscan inscriptions have been incised in this manner, as in the case of a vase in the form of a lion in the British Museum (A 1137, from Veii), on which is incised [FΕΛΘΥΡ] [ἉΘΙΣΝΑΣ], _felthur hathisnas_. The earliest known are incised on plain pots of black ware, and several of these take the form of what are known as _abecedaria_, or alphabets. Strictly speaking, some of these alphabets are of Hellenic origin, and do not give the forms of the Etruscan letters as they are known to us; but as the latter are derived from the Greek (western group), probably through Cumae (see above, p. 295) these inscriptions would naturally represent their original forms in Etruria.
In 1882 an amphora was discovered at Formello near Veii,[2327] on which this Greek alphabet is written twice from left to right, together with a retrograde Etruscan inscription, and a “syllabary” or spelling exercise. The alphabet is as follows: α, β, γ, δ, ε, ϝ, ζ, _h_, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ, ν, [samech,], ο, π, Ϻ, ϙ, ρ, σ, τ, υ, [X], φ, ψ. This is the most complete _abecedarium_ extant, containing twenty-six letters and illustrating the archaic Greek forms of the twenty-two Phoenician letters in their Semitic order. The four additional ones are υ, [X] ( = ξ), φ, and ψ ( = χ). The character [X] is the representative of _samech_, and is not found in Greek inscriptions; Ϻ is _shin_ or _san_ (cf. p. 247).
The Caere alphabet, on a vase now in the Museo Gregoriano, is also combined with an Etruscan syllabary, consisting of such forms as _bi_, _ba_, _bu_, _be_, _gi_, _ga_, _gu_, _ge_, etc.[2328]; the alphabet resembles that from Formello, except for the omission of the ϙ, and the [san], of the same type, extending as far as ο, was found at Colle near Siena.[2329] On another small black jar also found at Caere, and now in the Museo Gregoriano,[2330] is incised an Etruscan inscription in two lines, in which also the letters are certainly early Greek rather than Etruscan; these two from Caere must be of the same date as the Regulini-Galassi tomb, about 650-600 B.C.
[Illustration: FIG. 182. ETRUSCAN ALPHABET, FROM A VASE.]
The two following, however, are genuine Etruscan _abecedaria_: one from the foot of a cup found at Bomarzo,[2331] on which the alphabet runs (retrograde): α, γ, ε, ϝ, ζ, η, θ, ι, λ , μ, ν, π, Ϻ, ρ, σ, τ, υ, φ, χ, φ, the other in the museum at Grosseto,[2332] in which the letters are practically the same, but with the addition of κ and ϙ. In the first named the form ζ for Z should be noted, and in both occur the _san_ and two forms of φ, which in Etruscan generally appears as [Etrusan phi]. Among other instances of early Etruscan inscriptions are that on the Louvre vase from Caere, with white paintings on red ground (D 151: see p. 294), which dates from the seventh century; and on objects from the Regulini-Galassi and Del Duce tombs (pp. 295, 300). They are, however, very rare on the pottery of the next two centuries, with the exception of those incised on the plain pottery, which bear no essential relation to the vase itself.[2333] These, as has been noted, are also found on imported Greek wares, one of the best instances being the kylix of Oltos and Euxitheos, at Corneto,[2334] on the foot of which is an inscription of thirty-eight letters not divided into words. Occasionally also painted inscriptions are found.[2335]
When, however, we come to the imitation Greek vases of the third and second centuries, we find a curious reversion to the old Greek practice of inscribing the names of the figures and even sentences on the paintings themselves. Some of these have already been mentioned. The best example is afforded by the krater with Admetos and Alkestis, on which the names of the two principals are given as [ΑΤΜΙΤΕ], _Atmite_, and [ΑΛCΣΤΙ], _Alcsti_; while by the side of the figure of Charun is a long inscription 15[46]ΕΓΗ: 15[72]ΕΑΣΓΕ: 15[56]ΝΑΓ: 15[94]ΑΤΔΛΜ: 14[96]ΦΛΕΔΟΔΓΕ On the vase with Ajax and Penthesileia the names are given as [ΑΙFΑΣ], [ΨΑΔΥ], [ΠΕΝΤΑΣΙΛΑ], and [ἹΝΘΙΑΛ] [TYRMYGAS]. On a vase mentioned by Gerhard, Nike inscribes on a shield the word [ΑΝΣΑΛ], _Lasna_.[2336]
§ 2. ETRUSCAN TERRACOTTA WORK
It remains to say a few words on the other uses of clay among the Etruscans. This subject has indeed been discussed to some extent in
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