A major exhibition at the Baden State Museum in Karlsruhe sheds light on the mysterious Etruscan civilization, one of the most ancient in present-day Italy. Some aspects of this culture remain mysterious to this day.
Image: Badisches Landesmuseum, Foto: Uli Deck
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The art treasures of the Etruscans
Karlsruhe's Badisches Landesmuseum presents a major exhibition of archaeological artifacts exploring the Etruscan civilization, one of Italy's first societies.
Image: Polo Museale della Toscana
Where heaven and earth meet
Between the seventh and second century BC, the Etruscans used to decorate the interior of their tombs with wall paintings. They contain references to the afterworld while reflecting daily life realities expressing well-being and the joy of living. The picture above shows the reproduction of a burial chamber.
Image: Badisches Landesmuseum, Foto: Uli Deck
Fine arts in terracotta
In the southern part of the Etruscan empire, most tombs housed sarcophagi, while urns were usually used in the northern part. Over the course of time, the forms of the tombs varied following regional traditions, all while reflecting the personal wealth and social standing of the dead. Pictured here is the beautifully embellished lid of a terracotta urn.
Image: Polo Museale della Toscana
An older couple
This terracotta urn lid dated to the late third century BC has been shaped in the form of an older couple. The belief in a life after death was highly important to the Etruscans. That's why they honored their dead with religious ceremonies, and made offerings to their tombs.
Image: SABAP per l’area metropolitana di Roma, la provincia di Viterbo e l’Etruria meridionale
The egg of the Etruscans
This elaborately painted ostrich egg of Phoenician-Punic origin was produced in the eastern Mediterranean region in the middle of the seventh century BC. The Mediterranean played a significant role in the development of Etruscan culture in that it was an important trade route enabling the Etruscans to establish extensive trade contacts.
Image: Polo Museale del Lazio
Black, exquisite and noble
In approximately 675/650 BC, the Etruscans developed a new kind of pottery called "bucchero." Items made in the bucchero style had a shiny black surface. This bucchero aryballos, a small flask with a narrow neck, is dated to the seventh century BC. It originated in Montalto di Castro, in the province of Latium.
Image: Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rom
Imported from Greece
The Etruscans did not produce all their ceramics themselves. Pictured here on the left is a Nikosthenic amphora. This type of ceramic was invented by an Athens-based potter called Nikosthenes in the late sixth century BC. It was produced specifically for export to Etruria. Pictured in the middle is a Caeretan hydria, a particularly colorful version of Greek vase painting.
Image: Badisches Landesmuseum, Foto: Uli Deck
Life-sized statues depicting speakers
The life-sized bronze statue of Etruscan Aule Metele can usually be admired in Florence. The so-called "Aringatore" (speaker) is clad in a Roman toga. The statue was created in the second to first century BC, giving proof of the amazing artistic achievements of this ancient people living on the Italian peninsula.
Image: Polo Museale della Toscana
Practical and beautiful at once
People who were capable of creating intricate statues could obviously also produce their own bronze banquet ware. Their production has been praised by archaeologists for its outstanding design.
Image: Soprintendenza ABAP per l’area metropolitana di Bologna e le Province di Modena, Reggio Emilia e Ferrara
Pure gold
Another highlight of the exhibition are these golden earrings in the form of grapes. The techniques applied by Etruscan goldsmiths were even more elaborate than those used by the Phoenicians and ancient Greeks. The earrings originated from an ancient cemetery, the Banditaccia necropolis. Numerous such burial places once existed in Etruria, and were usually located outside of residential areas.
Image: Soprintendenza ABAP per l’area metropolitana di Roma, la Provincia di Viterbo e l’Etruria Meridionale
Feminine beauty
As the Etruscans developed their distinct cult of the dead, they also had a wide variety of burial objects. This female bust dating back to the period between the fourth and third century BC was also found in the Banditaccia necropolis.
Image: Polo Museale del Lazio
What has remained of Hermes
Of the Hermes statue that once embellished the Temple of Veji, only this head remains. The origins of the Etruscan religion remain shrouded in mystery. In later periods, it came to be strongly influenced by the mythology of Ancient Greece in which Hermes was venerated as a God of protection, who would serve as the messenger of Zeus and lead the souls of the dead into the underworld.
Image: Badisches Landesmuseum, Foto: Uli Deck
Etruscan deities
Although the Etruscan religion came to be influenced by Greek mythology, its basis had absolutely nothing to do with Greece. According to the Etruscan faith, people were totally subdued by the will of the gods. What kind of deities were populating the Etruscan heaven? The Karlsruhe exhibition reconstructs the civilization's interpretation of heaven through a projection.
Image: Badisches Landesmuseum, Foto: Uli Deck
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The ancient Etruscan civilization emerged roughly 2,900 years ago in present-day Italy. It would dominate the western Mediterranean until the first millennium BC.
Along with Ancient Greece, Etruria came to exert a lot of influence on Roman culture. The Etruscans called themselves Raśna. Etruria, their settlement area, was located in central and northern Italy, including present-day Tuscany, the northern part of Latium and parts of Umbria. In 500 BC, the empire reached from Mantua in the north, to what would later become Rome in the south.
The Etruscans were the ones who unified the villages located on the seven hills around Rome and founded their kingdom there.
The Etruscan civilization reached its climax between the seventh and the fifth century BC.
Ancient Greece historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus already admired the Etruscans as "a very ancient people that fundamentally differed from all others."
To this day, historians are divided on the origins of this civilization. Despite some evidence to the contrary, some of them believe that the Etruscans were an ancient autochtonous tribe that developed its culture over a long period of time.
Most historians, however, are convinced that the mysterious people once emigrated from the Anatolian region of present-day Turkey. Their claims are largely supported by DNA examinations of the present-day population of Tuscany.
Equally mysterious is the Etruscan language that bears no similarity whatsoever with any other language except the Lemnian language that was once spoken in the Aegean on the other side of the Italian peninsula.
This golden Phoenician bowl with its richly decorated relief tells of the intensive trade connections of the Etruscans with other ancient peoplesImage: Musei Vaticani
Only few documents still exist from this era, written in a language that, so far, has only partially been deciphered. That's why historians must mainly rely on archaeological findings if they want to explore Etruscan history. The Etruscans were not only good farmers and merchants, but also superb craftsmen. Numerous archaeological findings give proof of their outstanding achievements, especially in metallurgy and pottery. Now, visitors of the exhibition at the Baden State Museum in Karlsruhe can admire their works.
Love of beauty
Recent research has added new insight into the mysterious civilization of this people who called themselves Raśna. A flourishing urban lifestyle and a very rich daily life culture give proof of economic well-being.
Extraordinary artworks show their love of beauty. Splendid religious cult objects and monumental tombs decorated with colorful wall paintings, as well as precious burial objects, show that the Etruscans were a deeply religious people with a unique identity, inspired by their encounters with other ancient civilizations, among them the Phoenicians, Greek, Celts and Romans. After all, the Etruscans were also a seafaring nation that traded with far-away regions.
Such wagons made of wood, bronze and leather later came to serve the Romans as models.Image: Badisches Landesmuseum Foto: Uli Deck
Overshadowed by the Romans
Why then is it that almost nobody has ever heard of the Etruscans? That may be due to the fact that, from the third century BC onwards, their civilization was on the decline to finally be absorbed by the emergent Roman Empire.
Unsurprisingly therefore, many of their achievements came to be considered as being of Roman origin. Etruscan cities already had fortified streets, well-planned public spaces and squares, water supply and canalization. Their architectural and technological achievements also enabled the Romans to build up on this pre-existing basis. The Etruscans were really the mentors of the Romans by whom, however, they came to be overshadowed later on.
Interestingly, the Etruscan language whose origin is still not known, has influenced other languages through loanwords, among them the word "person" in many modern European languages. It originally referred to an Etruscan demon called "Phersu" before becoming part of Latin vocabulary with the word "persona," which however did not mean "person," but "mask" in Latin. From there, it later spread to modern European languages with a modified meaning.
Another example of Etruscan linguistic influence on modern European languages is the German word "Mäzen" meaning "art patron" that, however, did not find its way into the English language. It goes back to a man called Gaius Maecenas, who was born roughly in 70 BC to an Etruscan mother. He become the political adviser of Roman Emperor Augustus and an important promoter of art. That's why, to this day, Germans use the word "Mäzen" when they talk about a rich influential person who promotes art.
This cute little Etruscan shrew usually spends its life in the zoo of Karlsruhe: It's part of the exhibition tooImage: Zoo Karlsruhe/Timo Deible
And last, but not least, the world's smallest mammal has been named after the Etruscans. The "Etruscan shrew" is a tiny little mouse in the Mediterranean, less than two inches long. In its efforts to grow a bit bigger, the Etruscan shrew devours food of double the amount of its own weight every day.
The Etruscan exhibition at the Baden State Museum in Karlsruhe (Badische Landesmuseum Karlsruhe) runs until June 17, 2018.
