THE CORRESPONDENT.
Fine goldsmithing and precious stones
Wealth is a hallmark of Etruscan society. Aristocracies between the second half of the 8th and 6th centuries BCE displayed opulence to legitimize their social role. Goldsmiths in particular were attributed this prevalent function.
The Etruscans used techniques already established in the East, such as granulation and filigree, in use in Mesopotamia as early as the third millennium BCE. The raw material was imported from the Near East, along with the working techniques. The 6th century also brought stylistic innovations, and Greek and Oriental input would be continuous, with a decline within the 5th century B.C.E., returning to marked vitality in the Hellenistic period. The deposition of gold within the grave goods overall satisfies a need for pomp and power as early as the Archaic period, and its symbolic significance will remain unchanged for centuries.
THE GEMS.
Within Etruscan grave goods were often found engraved gems that could be made from various hard stones. Certainly among the most common types in the Etruscan world is the scarab, often made of carnelian, or gems that could be mounted on rings. The gems are often found without their original mountings, but we must imagine them inserted in their own bezels. They had a strictly personal use and served to imprint one’s image as a seal. Their use, dating back to eastern palatial cultures, was originally connoted by an administrative character.
Within the rich Etruscan iconographic heritage it is possible to find references to symbolic animals or particular mythological figures. The gemstone therefore, whether carved or worked with the cameo relief technique, went to enshrine the image that the individual wanted to give of himself. In particular, the cameo, which was not used as a seal, is a product in use since the Hellenistic period, and in funerary contexts it provided the possessor with a connotation of identity.