Engraved gems

THE ETRUSCAN WORLD Edited by Jean MacIntosh Turfa 4913 The Etruscan World.indb iii 4/9/2013 9:01:04 AM CHAPTER FIFTY ONE ENGRAVED GEMS Ulf R. Hansson T he technique of engraving harder stones with the aid of a bow-driven drill and cutting- wheel was introduced in Etruria sometime in the third quarter of the sixth century bce.1 The technically highly accomplished early works indicate that local craftsmen did not acquire the technique gradually from studying imported gems only, but that they learnt the craft from immigrant gem-engravers who had studied and mastered it elsewhere, most likely somewhere in the East Greek world, before settling in Etruria. Etruscan gem-engravers used predominantly semi-precious stones of the chalcedony family, which have a hardness of 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale. Most popular throughout production was the red cornelian, which in Etruscan works is remarkably consistent in color, possibly indicating that the stones came from a single source or that they were subjected to color manipulation through some form of heat treatment or immersion, either by the Etruscans themselves or by their stone suppliers.2 The sources whence the Etruscans obtained their stones have not been identified, but would most likely have been found somewhere in the East. In addition to cornelian, Etruscan engravers also used agates and striped sardonyx, and to a lesser extent jasper of various colors, onyx, and milky white chalcedony. Softer stones like green serpentine and non-lithic materials such as amber and bone were sporadically used,3 and in the later phase colored glass paste was occasionally used for so-called a globolo scarabs (see below). The shapes include: (1) the scarab gem, where the engraving of the curved back of the stone more or less faithfully imitates the anatomical parts of the scarab beetle; (2) the scaraboid, which retains the overall shape of the scarab gem but with little or no engraving on the curved backside; and (3) the pseudo-scarab, which has an image carved in relief on its curved backside instead of a beetle. All three types have a flat, oval underside which carries an engraved miniature image (device) within a decorated border which is usually hatched, but can also be, for example, dotted, cable, zigzag, or just a simple line, as on the late so-called a globolo scarabs. The device is invariably engraved in intaglio (from the Italian intagliare, to carve), i.e. the design is carved into the flat surface of the stone so that a raised or positive imprint is produced when the surface is pressed into a softer material such as wax or clay. The cameo technique, where the actual image is carved in relief, was not used by Etruscan engravers except for some images on the backs of pseudo-scarabs. A limited 928 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 928 4/9/2013 9:04:34 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – number of scarab gems with no intaglio device on the flat underside have survived, which suggests that at least some of these stones were delivered with ready-made beetle sides and that an engraved miniature image was added later. This seems especially plausible in the late period of production, when the beetle typologies became gradually more standardized. All three gem types were invariably pierced lengthways so that they could be mounted on swivel hoops, for example, and worn either as pendants or as finger-rings. The gems were most likely worn with the intaglio device facing inwards, although some scarab gems were set in ring designs with a fixed device facing outwards. In the later phase of production, a fourth shape was introduced: the flat or very slightly convex ringstone, intended to be set, immobile, in metal finger-rings. Gem-cutting requires no built structures, the basic equipment of the gem-engraver being more or less limited to a cutting wheel, drill-heads of various shapes and sizes, and a bow for rotating the drill.4 A “workshop” would therefore have consisted of little more than the craftsman himself and his set of tools. This means that the person practicing this craft could be itinerant, carrying with him his light equipment, or at least his artistic output, from city to city in search of new clients. Apart from the gems, no other archaeological evidence for this craft has survived, and it is extremely difficult to link the glyptic production to a specific city or region, unless there is a concentration of similar works in a single find location. But very few of the approximately 2,600 surviving gems have been found during controlled excavation,5 and the vast majority of them lack information on find location. Where the earliest archaic production is concerned, stylistic affinities have been noted with vase-painting and metalwork produced in the larger artistic centers of southern Etruria such as Tarquinia, Caere (Cerveteri) and Vulci, but also with stone reliefs produced in Volterra in the north.6 Tarquinia is relatively rich in finds throughout the period of production, and in the late period inland Chiusi may be added to this list. But, as mentioned, both gems and engravers travel easily. The fact that the gems were engraved by local craftsmen and not imported means that they more or less directly reflect the actual tastes and needs of the local customer groups catered for. In the beginning, gems may have been made on commission for members of the Etruscan elite, but in the late period the engravers would rather have anticipated the general tastes of a much expanded and socially diverse group of potential customers by producing series of gems carrying popular subject-matter, and the prospective client would probably have had a selection of gems to choose from. Scholars disagree on the question of whether the Etruscans ever used their engraved gems for sealing purposes or chiefly as personal adornment. It is true that some of the more elaborate gold settings that have been preserved seem impractical for sealing purposes. But clay imprints of Etruscan gems have been found in contemporary temple archives at Carthage,7 and most metal mounts nevertheless seem to allow the gems to be fully functional as sealstones. Either way, there is no reason to doubt that the strong symbolic connotations of the sealstone would have been fully understood by the Etruscans. In this context should be mentioned an unprovenanced pendant bone seal in the form of a hare and bearing the inscription mi larthia chulnas, “I [am the seal of] Larth Chulna,” tentatively attributed to mid-sixth-century bce Chiusi.8 Even if later inscriptions referring to a specific owner are exceptional,9 like the late fourth- or early third-century bce scarab gem in Florence with the inscribed name appius alce (Fig. 51.1), a device image was probably most carefully chosen, as it would be expected to represent or reflect its owner in some way or other. The same would be true of gems with devices chosen mainly for their protective or “amuletic” properties. The link between the engraved gem and its owner would in both cases have been a strong and personal one. 929 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 929 4/9/2013 9:04:34 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – Figure 51.1 Banded agate scarab depicting two Roman salii, inscr. appius alce. Late fourth or early third century bce. Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, inv. 14400 © Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana. E A R LY IMPORTED WORKS AND IMMIGRANT ENGRAVERS Prior to the introduction of new techniques for engraving harder stones in the second half of the sixth century bce, there are few examples of indigenous stone seal production.10 Three gems in softer serpentine (hardness 2.5–5 on the Mohs scale) deserve to be mentioned. The earliest one is a scaraboid fragment found in the so-called edificio beta in the Pian di Civita complex at Tarquinia and datable to the late eighth or early seventh century bce;11 the other two are a scaraboid and a pendant seal found in the destruction layers of the earliest palace at Poggio Civitate, Murlo, and datable to the late seventh century bce.12 These and numerous finds of imported scarabs and scaraboids in the larger Etruscan and Faliscan centers show that such types of objects were circulated in the area at least from the early eighth century bce onwards, when they begin to appear in burial contexts.13 Imported material includes late ninth- and eighth-century bce scarabs and scaraboids in various materials of Egyptian, Syro-Phoenician and/or Island manufacture, and late eighth-century bce red and green serpentine scaraboids and scarabs belonging to the so-called Lyre-Player Group, which were carved by North-Syrian or Cilician engravers, possibly also by gem-carvers active on the island of Rhodes.14 In the late third and fourth quarters of the sixth century bce, scarabs in hard, semi- precious stones attributed to East Greek workshops also begin to surface in Etruria. Where these early works are concerned, it is virtually impossible to distinguish imported stones from those that may actually have been engraved by immigrant Greek craftsmen active in Etruria, or for that matter by local gem-carvers trained by immigrants. Several of the gems in John Boardman’s Greek Robust Style have allegedly been found in Etruria, and there is good reason to assume that at least some of these gems were actually carved by engravers active there. This has been suggested to be the case with the so-called “Master of the London Satyr” (Fig. 51.2).15 These early gems from the last three decades of the sixth century bce present affinities with works in other media made by Ionian artists who arrived in Etruria following the Persian invasion of their East Greek homelands. But Greek and Etruscan glyptic soon developed along different lines, making identification somewhat easier. The beetle sides of Etruscan scarabs are generally more detailed, carefully cut and 930 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 930 4/9/2013 9:04:34 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – Figure 51.2 Agate Scarab. Satyr. Greek, Master of the London Satyr, circa 530–520 bce. London, British Museum, inv. GR-1876.12–7.106 © Trustees of the British Museum. highly polished than is the case with Greek works, and they normally lack the raised spine or carination that Greek scarabs often have. From the late Archaic period onwards, Etruscan scarabs usually also have a characteristic decoration on the plinth beneath the beetle, which further distinguishes them from Greek works. Most common is a neatly hatched band (orlo etrusco), which is sometimes double or triple, but there are many other kinds of decoration, like the kymation, zigzag, hatched triangles, and fishbone. While the scarab gem soon went out of fashion in the Greek world where it was replaced with the scaraboid and other shapes, it remained the preferred shape in Etruria well into the third century bce. L AT E SIXT H- AND EARLY FIFTH- CENTURY WORKSHOPS The preserved material from the Archaic period, circa 530/520–480 bce, is very limited. The first engraver who may be called “Etruscan” has been named the “Master of the Boston Dionysos” after one of his more ambitious works, now in Boston: a pseudo-scarab which has an exceptional four-figure intaglio device showing Herakles/Hercle fighting Nereus (or possibly Geras), and an image of Dionysos carved in relief on its backside (see Fig. 24.14). Eight or nine works have been plausibly attributed to this master-engraver,16 who was active sometime in the last decades of the sixth century bce, although there are no known datable find contexts for any of his works. These gems share a number of defining features. They are of exceptionally high technical quality and very small in size – the gem in Florence depicting Achilles/Achle, illustrated here, measures only 9 mm across (Figs. 51.3–5). The beetles are meticulously carved and polished, but lack the plinth decoration that later on becomes characteristic of Etruscan works. A string of tiny drill-holes surrounds the intaglio devices, and an even finer round drill-head has been used for some details such as Achilles’ shield and sword on the gem in Florence. The figures are stocky, depicted in the archaic manner with frontal upper torso and the rest of the body and head in profile. Their heads are somewhat over-proportioned and angular, the back of the skulls usually hollowed-out and highly polished, and the longish hair neatly held in place by a hair band or diadem. Facial features are carefully outlined. The armour of Achilles in the work illustrated here is very detailed, and the long garments 931 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 931 4/9/2013 9:04:35 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – Figure 51.3–5 Cornelian scarab. Warrior (Achilles/Achle). Master of the Boston Dionysos, circa 520 bce. Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, inv. 15260. Photo Alessandro Pareti © Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana. 932 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 932 4/9/2013 9:04:35 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – of the figures on other gems in the group exhibit a mannered, linear drapery. Apart from the group’s name piece and two compositions with two and three figures depicting the arming of Achilles by Thetis and Hephaistos/Sethlans, these early archaic gem devices show single figures: Hermes/Turms, Achilles, unidentified youths and a female figure.17 The works attributed to the Boston Master exhibit close stylistic affinities with three scarab gems found at Uşak in modern Turkey, suggesting links with workshops active in this part of the ancient world.18 Even if he seems to have had no close followers, this master-engraver can be said to mark the beginning of the Etruscan production. Another characteristic group of Archaic gems consists of representations of the armed Athena/Menrva and the occasional Zeus/Tinia in a similar compositional schema. These works were probably produced slightly later than those of the Boston Master, one of them was found in a tomb at Populonia with black-figured vases dated circa 500 bce.19 Gods (Fig. 51.6), warriors and hero-figures from Greek myth were favored by the engravers and their patrons, who adapted them to suit their own specific needs for self-representation, protection etc. Female figures, mostly goddesses like Athena, Thetis, and Artemis/Artumes, constitute a relatively large group in the Archaic period, after which they virtually disappear from the glyptic material. Animals and monsters are conspicuously absent from the early glyptic repertory, as are satyrs and maenads. The gem-engravers of the Archaic period were influenced by the work of other artists active in Etruria and by imported Greek black- and early red-figure vase-painting.20 The scarabs are all small in size, with meticulously carved beetles and intaglio devices. The beetles usually have small, decorated winglets in the upper exterior corners of the wings, and whiskered legs carved in relief. Some late archaic scarabs have decorated plinths. Figure 51.6 Cornelian scarab. Hermes/Turms, circa 500 bce. Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark, Collection of Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities, inv. 2267. Photo Ulf R. Hansson, courtesy of the National Museum of Denmark. 933 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 933 4/9/2013 9:04:36 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – F IF T H-C ENTURY WORKSHOPS From the early fifth century bce onwards fewer Greek gems seem to have been circulated in Etruria, while there was a continuous influx of Attic vases. This is reflected in the repertory of the Etruscan gem-engravers, who continued to skillfully borrow and adapt single figures from more complex multi-figure compositions now found especially in red-figure vase-painting. Other influences include toreutics, sculpture, and perhaps even monumental painting, probably via transmitting minor arts. But the various mechanisms of this dynamic creative process, especially the inherent difficulties involved in introducing new subject-matter from other media and adapting it to the micro- format, which to some extent would explain the conservative nature of this craft, remain insufficiently studied. During the Early Classical period, circa 480–430 bce, Etruscan gem-engravers developed their craft along lines that had begun in the preceding period, retaining some characteristic traits such as the preference for rendering upper torsos frontally and the rest of the human figures in profile, and the careful detailing of coiffures and faces. Works from this period, which are sometimes labeled “Severe style,” are characterized by greater formal and iconographic diversity due to an increased number of active engravers, and by a growing interest in the careful rendering of the nude male body, often with highly- skilled foreshortenings. There is a continued preference for single figures such as warriors, heroes, athletes, hunters, and youths, who are depicted standing, stooping, seated, collapsing, walking, running or kneeling. Achilles and Herakles remain popular, and there is a growing interest in the Theban heroes Kapaneus/Capne and Tydeus/Tute, who seem to have enjoyed greater popularity in Etruria than in Greece. The Early Classical repertory also includes the old eastern motif of fighting animals, one or two winged figures carrying a dead or wounded hero, warriors in council, as well as many two-figure compositions, for example, Herakles and Kyknos/Kukne, Ajax/Aifas and Kassandra, Ajax and Achilles, Aeneas and Anchises and others, which all show that Etruscan engravers did not shy away from ambitious multi-figure scenes; such compositions are actually more common on Etruscan gems than on Greek ones. The most famous of these more complex miniature compositions, the so-called “Gemma Stosch,” which is now in Berlin, shows no less than five named heroes from the Seven Against Thebes story (see Fig. 24.15). An interesting scarab from Corchiano, now in Copenhagen, has an intaglio device depicting the reclining Herakles, with club and bow, sailing on a raft supported by six amphorae (Fig. 51.7). This subject matter, which seems to have been confined to engraved gems and bronze mirrors, becomes very frequent on later gems in the so-called a globolo technique (below). It is sometimes still possible to attribute two or more works to the same “hand.” Devices with little or no compositional variation occasionally make an appearance, sometimes with mirrored images. Once a compositional theme was successfully mastered and proved popular with patrons, it was generally retained. Some figure-types thus became standardized early on and sometimes used for more than one mythological figure, the precise identity of which could be indicated by the addition of a characteristic attribute or an inscribed name. These inscriptions, which amount to about 160 and mostly belong in the fifth and fourth centuries bce, almost always name the figure(s) depicted, not the engraver or owner of the gem. They are mostly Etruscan variants of the names of Greek heroes.21 Scholars often assume that the Etruscan engravers arbitrarily applied these 934 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 934 4/9/2013 9:04:36 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – Figure 51.7 Cornelian scarab. Herakles/Hercle sailing on an amphora raft. From Corchiano. Early to mid-fifth century bce. Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark, Collection of Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities, inv. 3711. Photo Ulf R. Hansson, courtesy of the National Museum of Denmark. Greek heroic names to various stock figures, but in most cases the names seem wholly appropriate for the figures represented in terms of action and/or attributes.22 In some cases, names seem to have been added to assure correct identification of a depicted figure when his or her identity was not immediately clear from either attributes or action.23 Sometimes names have been added to figures already identifiable through attributes or action, a form of “supercharging” that would instead have been aimed at maximizing the effectiveness or potency of the image. The beetle sides continue to be meticulously carved and polished throughout the fifth century bce, revealing a continued interest in the realistic rendering of the scarab beetle, but also a decorative inventiveness in details such as winglets and plinth decoration. L AT E F IF T H- A ND FOURTH- CENTURY WORKSHOPS The Late Classical period, circa 430–320 bce, is characterized by continued formal and iconographic diversity. The label “Free style” is often applied to these works. Attic vase painting continues to be a major influence, together with coins, sculpture and painting, as well as indigenous Etruscan works such as bronze mirrors and cistae. The prevalent single- or two-figured compositions usually fill the whole space inside the oval decorated border, which is still mostly hatched but occasionally more elaborate, like the dotted line of the early scarab illustrated here, depicting Herakles wrestling with Antaios (Fig. 51.8), and found in a tomb in Populonia together with pottery dated to the mid-fifth century bce.24 A higher degree of realism and plasticity is introduced in the rendering of human bodies, which are muscular but successively more slender and at times statuary-like (Fig. 51.9). The figures, which tend to have large, sometimes squarish heads and coiffures with finely engraved strands of hair, are often clad in a characteristic short mantle or chlamys and frequently stand with their legs slightly apart or crossed, occasionally bent over an object or an animal (Fig. 51.10). Engravers excel in various foreshortenings of backs, arms and legs, and some figures are depicted performing an action such as speaking (with the characteristic raised-hand gesture), sacrificing, or practicing various crafts. Some scholars have interpreted such scenes as taken from everyday life, but the majority 935 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 935 4/9/2013 9:04:36 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – Figure 51.8 Cornelian scarab. Herakles/Hercle and Antaios, inscr. hercle. From Populonia. Mid-fifth century bce. Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, no inv. © Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana. Fig. 51.9 Cornelian scarab. Herakles/Hercle and the Erymanthian Boar. From Chiusi. Fourth century bce. London, British Museum, inv. GR 72.6-4.1140 © Trustees of the British Museum. Figure 51.10 Banded agate. Odysseus/Uthuze, inscr. uthuze. From Orvieto. Fourth century bce. Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark, Collection of Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities, inv. 3097. Photo Ulf R Hansson, courtesy of the National Museum of Denmark. 936 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 936 4/9/2013 9:04:36 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – of them are more likely linked to mythological figures;25 defining actions such as these probably served to make depicted figures more easily identifiable. Figures from Greek myth remain popular, especially Herakles who is depicted alone or together with various figures and creatures such as Athena, Hermes, Acheloos, Kerberos, the Nemean Lion, and the Hydra. Other recognizable figures include Hermes, Achilles, Ajax, Peleus/Pele, Perseus/Pherse, Odysseus/Uthuze, Theseus/These, Kastor/Castur, Kadmos, Kapaneus, and Tydeus, but there are also many numerous nameless warriors, archers, athletes, hunters, youths, lyre-players etc. Animals and various hybrid creatures begin to surface, as do satyrs. The beetle-sides continue to be detailed and finely carved, with a variety of plinth decorations. L AT E F O URT H TO SECOND CENTURIES BCE For a long time scholars doubted that purely Etruscan workshops continued to be active after the fourth century bce. But authors like Peter Zazoff and Wolfram Martini have shown that Etruscan craftsmen continued to engrave gems well into the second century bce, turning out works in different, parallel styles and techniques, and even introducing a new shape into their repertory, the fixed ringstone. But this important period is still highly problematic in a number of ways, and in need of further study. What can be safely said is that, towards the end of the fourth century bce, Etruscan workshops offered an artistic output that was not only much more varied than previously, but it may also already have been partly aimed at customer groups outside Etruria. This is most likely the case with the two major new classes of gems, the so-called a globolo scarabs and the ringstones. But scarabs engraved in the various extensions of the Late Classical or “Free” style continued to be produced for a long time, with subject matter drawn from all previous periods of production. Engravers now leave more space around the increasingly elongated and statue-like figures, which are reminiscent of Hellenistic sculpture. Some stones tend to be somewhat flatter and wider, resulting in distorted beetle anatomies. The backsides are generally more summarily carved than before. A globolo scarabs Round drill-heads of various sizes were used throughout production not only for details, but also for producing larger cavities in the stone surface in preparation for additional engraving with finer tools. This technique is evidenced already in the earliest Etruscan works. But on some gems from the fifth and fourth centuries bce such blob-like forms, mostly confined to heads of human figures and later also to animals and various objects, have been left more or less as they are and appear side by side with more detailed engraving achieved with finer tools. Such hybrid works prepare the way for a new important class of gems, the a globolo scarabs, which dominated the glyptic production of the late fourth and early third centuries bce, and in which most or all engraving was done with a limited number of round drill-heads (Fig. 51.11).26 There are many more datable find contexts for these gems, which had a very wide geographical distribution even outside Etruria and the Italian peninsula.27 The a globolo gems constitute more than two thirds of the preserved corpus of Etruscan scarabs and were mostly serially-produced. This interesting development towards formal abstraction resulted in simplified, at times strikingly bold and effective images, which allowed for greater variety in interpretation. This engraving 937 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 937 4/9/2013 9:04:37 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – Figure 51.11 Cornelian scarab. Centaur. A globolo technique. Third century bce. London, British Museum, inv. GR 1862.6-4.15 © Trustees of the British Museum. technique and and resulting formal vagueness were probably deliberate ways of adapting to an ever-expanding market, whose specific demands and tastes had to be anticipated. The final decision on the specific identity of a figure depicted could be left to the future owner of the gem. Some scholars want to place the production of these works in non- Etruscan, Italic workshops, and it is very likely that engravers working in this style were active in or catered to customers in other regions of Italy as well. But the fact remains that there is considerable thematic continuity between the Etruscan scarab production of the fifth and fourth centuries bce and the a globolo scarabs, where this established repertory is expanded to include images of chariots and equestrians, man-and-animal scenes, and various winged figures which are all less frequent on earlier gems. A variety of animals and monsters such as horses, deer, hares, dogs, birds, dolphins, Geryon, Pegasus, Kerberos, Chimaera, Scylla, giants, tritons, centaurs, griffins, harpies, sirens, sphinxes, and hippocamps are also new additions more or less confined to this class of gems. Of the identifiable figures, Herakles remains the most popular by far. He is depicted sailing on an amphora raft, collecting water from a spring or fountain, mastering animals or monsters like the Lion, the Hind, or Kerberos, or just standing or resting. At times he is replaced by a satyr performing the same characteristic actions. Other recognizable figures include Hyakinthos riding on a swan or driving a swan biga, the collapsing Kapaneus with the thunderbolt of Zeus, the brooding Achilles, Ajax committing suicide, Phaeton on the sun biga, Hermes psychopompos, Poseidon/Nethuns with his trident, Phalanthos/ Taras riding on the dolphin, and Theseus with his father’s sword. But these figures are no longer named, as a globolo gems with inscriptions are extremely rare – most of them are probably modern additions. The beetles of the a globolo scarabs are highly standardized, winglets are now mostly hinted at by one to three diagonal grooves; in the late phase of production, the legs become reduced to a few incised lines, the plinth decoration disappears, and the common hatched border surrounding the intaglio device is replaced with a simple line or is omitted altogether. But the stones remain highly polished, the bold design of the device creating an attractive play of light. Ringstones The new important class of gems constituted by ringstones intended to be set, immobile, in metal finger-rings has much in common with the scarabs of the Early and Late Classical 938 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 938 4/9/2013 9:04:37 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – periods in terms of style and iconography.28 And some scarab gems actually had their backs sawed-off in order to be reused as ringstones, like a sardonyx in London with an intaglio device showing the weary Herakles, illustrated here (Fig. 51.12). The ringstones, which vary in shape from circular and oval to more angular, have remained a problematic group of gems, both in terms of dating and workshop attribution, since virtually none of them have been found during controlled excavation, and provenance information is scarce.29 Single, statuary-like figures from Greek myth are popular even here: Achilles, Herakles, Hermes, Odysseus, Kapaneus, Tydeus, and Kadmos, but so too are figures that are less common or absent on Etruscan scarabs, such as Prometheus, Orpheus, Philoktetes, and Oidipus with the Sphinx. There are also many anonymous warriors and youths, but very few female figures. The relative popularity of devices with what appears to be Maschialismos scenes or severed heads should be noted. There are very few inscriptions, most of them are written in Latin letters and seem to refer to the owner of the gem.30 Some scholars have attributed this whole production to non-Etruscan workshops, and it is true that there are some differences in subject matter, but these probably say more about customer tastes than about the engravers. It is reasonable to assume that Etruscan workshops were responsible for initializing this production sometime in the second half of the fourth century bce. They may have continued to produce ringstones well into the second century bce, but, given the lack of datable contexts, chronology remains a controversial issue.31 In the third and second centuries bce they would have had competition from engravers active in other parts of central and southern Italy. T HE E ND O F ETRUSCAN PRODUCTION The scarcity of datable find contexts makes the end of Etruscan glyptic production difficult to pinpoint. As mentioned, engravers probably began to adapt their artistic output to suit more socially and culturally heterogeneous customer groups, including non-Etruscan components, already towards the end of the fourth century bce, by Figure 51.12 Sardonyx ringstone based on a scarab. Herakles/Hercle, inscr. hercle. From Arna (Perugia?) Fourth century bce. London, British Museum inv. GR 1814.7-4.1299 © Trustees of the British Museum. 939 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 939 4/9/2013 9:04:37 AM – Ulf R. Hansson – introducing new subject matter, techniques, and shapes. Both the a globolo scarabs and the ringstones are firmly rooted in the Etruscan glyptic tradition but could be seen as successful attempts to attract new customer groups, whether still Etruscan, Italic, Roman or Romanized. These classes of gems became popular outside Etruria, production soon included engravers active in other parts of central and southern Italy, and the enduring influence of Etruscan gem-engraving on the artistic output of later Italic and Roman- Republican workshops can be studied for a considerable period of time.32 In the third and second centuries bce, the fixed ringstone replaced the scarab gem as the most popular shape, and workshops were rapidly being established in various parts of Italy, notably in Campania and Latium, and later at Aquileia in the north, founded in 181 bce. The earliest gems found at Aquileia are in fact a globolo scarabs.33 But very few, if any, purely Etruscan workshops would still have been active after the mid-second century bce.34 NOTES 1 For example, Zazoff 1983: 215–217 and refs; Spier 2000. For Etruscan gems in general, see Zazoff 1968, 1983: 214–259; Richter 1968: 173–213; Martini 1971; Boardman 1975: 37–45; Krauskopf 1995; Martelli and Gilotta 2000; Hansson 2005; Zwierlein-Diehl 2007: 81–97; Ambrosini 2011. 2 Boardman 1991. 3 Martelli 1981; Devoto 1990; Fábry 2009; Giovanelli 2012. 4 For engraving techniques, see for example, Boardman 1970: 379–382; Devoto and Molayem 1990: esp. 192–206. 5 Most gems with a known archaeological find context come from tombs, both male and female burials. The figure 2,600 gems is based on an inventory of known collections. The actual number of surviving gems may of course be much higher. 6 For example, Zazoff 1968: 20. 7 Berges 1997: nos. 461, 490, 573, 574, 592, 641, 642, 657, 658, 770. 8 Martelli 1981. 9 Ambrosini 2011: 74–77 EDP 1–10. 10 For an overview of earlier scaraboids and sealstones in amber and serpentine, see Giovanelli 2012. 11 Chiesa 2009. 12 Phillips 1978. 13 For example, Hölbl 1979, II, nos. 36, 39, 126f., 226 and passim; Bartoloni et al. 2000: 137– 140 nos 92–108. 14 Martelli and Gilotta 2001: 455. 15 Boardman 1968: 173; 1970: 145, 152f. 16 We owe this attribution to Peter Zazoff (for example, 1968: 17–24, 1983: 215–217). 17 For the most recent list see Spier 2000: 333f. 18 Spier 2000. 19 Podere San Cerbone, tomb 13. Notizie degli scavi, 1908, 202. 20 Zazoff 1968: 30. 21 Ambrosini 2011. 22 For example, Krauskopf 1995: 5–19; 1996: 413; Ambrosini 2011. 23 For example, Krauskopf 1995: 11; 1996. 24 Pod. San Cerbone, Tomba del Bronzetto di un Offerente, Notizie degli scavi, 15, 1961: 63–67. 25 For example, Krauskopf 1995: 5–19; 1996. 26 Zazoff 1968: 118–141; 1983: 241–247; Hansson 2005; Zwierlein-Diehl 2007: 93–95. 940 4913 The Etruscan World.indb 940 4/9/2013 9:04:38 AM – chapter 51: Engraved gems – 27 Hansson 2005: 43–68. Southern Italy is especially rich in finds, but a globolo gems have been found all over the Mediterranean region and as far away as the coastal areas around Kertsch in Crimea. 28 Martini 1971. 29 Martini 1971: 21–23, 164: Aquileia, Chiusi, Dalmatia, Rome. 30 Martini 1971: 119–122, 164. 31 Martini 1971: 116–126. See also Zazoff 1983: 250–259; Zwierlein-Diehl 2007: 95–97. 32 For example, Sena Chiesa 1966; Zazoff 1983: 260–305; Zwierlein-Diehl 2007: 98–107. 33 Sena Chiesa 1966: nos. 567, 874, 1051, 1052. 34 Zazoff dates the end of scarab production circa 100 bce (1983: 237–247). B IBLIOGRAPHY Ambrosini, L. (2011) Gemme etrusche con iscrizioni, (Mediterranea, Suppl. 6) Rome: Fabrizio Serra. Bartoloni, G. et al. (2000) Principi etruschi: tra Mediterraneo e Europa, Venice: Marsilio. Berges, D. (1997) Die Tonsiegel aus dem karthagischem Tempelarchiv, Mainz: von Zabern. Boardman, J. (1968) Archaic Greek Gems: Schools and artists in the sixth and early fifth ceturies BC, Evanston: Indiana University Press. ——(1970) Greek Engraved Gems: Archaic to early Classical, London: Thames & Hudson. ——(1975) Intaglios and rings, Greek, Etruscan and Eastern, from a private collection, London and New York: Thames & Hudson. ——(1991) “Colour questions,” Jewellery Studies, 5: 29–31. Chiesa, F. (2009) “Uno scaraboide figurato dal ‘complesso monumentale’ a Tarquinia” in S. Bruni (ed.), Etruria e Italia preromana: studi in onore di Giovannangelo Camporeale, Rome and Pisa: Fabrizio Serra, pp. 227–232. Devoto, G. (1990) “Scarabei etrusco-italici in serpentina,” Acta geoarcheologica urbica 2: 34–36. Devoto, G. and Molayem, A. (1990) Archeogemmologia: pietre antiche, glittica, magia e litoterapia, Rome: La Meridiana. Fábry, N. B. (2009) “Lo scarabeo della Tomba 7 di Monterenzio Vecchio e le parures d’ambra delle necropoli etrusco-celtiche della Valle dell’Idice,” Ocnus 17: 23–28. Giovanelli, E. (2012) “Le prime testimonianze di glittica etrusca: scaraboidi e sigilli tra VIII e VII a.C.” in Preistoria e protostoria in Etruria: Atti del decimo incontro di studi. L’Etruria dal Paleolitico al Primo Ferro: lo stato delle ricerche, Milan: Centro di Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia, II: 783–796. Hansson, U. R. (2005) “A globolo gems: late Etrusco-Italic scarab intaglios,” Unpublished PhD Diss., Gothenburg University. Forthcoming publication. Hölbl, G. (1979) Beziehungen der ägyptischen Kultur zu Altitalien, Leiden: Brill. Krauskopf, I. 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