er part of Europe was still in an almost savage state, a small tract of land in Italy, lying between the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Apennines, and the Tiber in the south, and corresponding nearly to the modern Tuscany, was inhabited by a strange and highly civilized people. These people, the Etruscans, or, as they called themselves, Rasena, are variously supposed to have come from Greece, Egypt, or Lydia, a maritime province in the west of Asia Minor, but there is nothing certain known as to their origin, except that they are surely not the original inhab itants of Etruria.

FIG. 1. ETRUSCAN EAR-RING.

The tradition of their Lydian or igin is of venerable antiquity, since it is mentioned by Herodotus, and in itself not improbable, despite the difficulty of imagining how any large body of invaders could have made their way across the sea. For their language, philologists have variously proclaimed it Semitic, Celtic, Armenian, Gothic, Basque, and Albanian. Professor Sayce pronounces it sui generis, and Canon Isaac Taylor claims it as "Ugro-Etaie," a mysterious phrase which carries conviction in its very sound. All this we may safely leave on one side, and content ourselves with the undisputed facts that the best part of the early civilization of ancient Rome was of Etruscan origin, and that for several centuries before 474 B.C., when, with their defeat by Hiero of Syracuse, the decline of their power set in, they were the chief nation of ancient Italy, lived in much luxury, and possessed (besides a literature which has wholly disappeared a wealth of art treasures, the discovered re

siderable. These art treasures, it is needless to say, have all been found in tombs. The Egyptians made much of their dead, but the Etruscans seem to have made almost more, since we hear of cemeteries sixteen square miles in extent, while in their provision for the comfort of the dead in the matter of chairs and tables, pictorial adornment of walls, and ample supply of all useful implements for daily life, they fell no whit behind.

These tombs seem to have become larger and more used as treasure-houses as the race increased in prosperity and riches. In the earliest form of sepulture the cremated body was placed in an earthen vase, sometimes simple in form and sometimes shaped like a little hut, decorated with simple arabesque designs, and this was buried in a pitlike excavation, generally lined with tiles, and having above it no sign or mark of its existence. In their earliest burying-places many small objects of clay and bronze are found, generally toys or small articles of toilet, knives, helmets, etc., and in a few rare cases the better made of the bronze articles are gilt. The urns containing the cremated dead were gradually superseded by larger coffins, and the bodies were no longer burned. In these coffins finer specimens of work of all kinds are found, and gold jewelry becomes more and more frequent; but it is the latest form of burial, when the richer persons were laid to rest in large chambers, highly decorated, and containing many vases and much treasure of gold and silver, that has yielded up the richest harvest of black and red vases of exquisite workmanship, gold jewelry so finely wrought that it is quite beyond the powers of modern experts to guess in what manner it was made, and much other treasure. Naturally, the most beautiful specimens of art recovered from the old burial-grounds have been preserved in Italy, and in the Museo Gregoriano and the Museo Campana in Rome

FIG. 2.-EAR-RING FOUND AT TARENTUM. B. C. 350 ().-IN THE CASTELLANI COLLECTION.

are splendid collections. Nearer home, however, is to be seen some fine representative work of the Etruscans, both at the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum in London; and at the old Hermitage Palace at St. Petersburg is a large and splendid collection of gold-work of Etruscan origin, that was discovered mostly in the catacombs of Kertch and in the scattered graves of the Crimean peninsula, and in tombs on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus.

The discoveries of these depositories have been generally of recent date, but nevertheless the explorations have been so carefully organized and well conducted that probably we are already in possession of specimens of all the best of the many kinds of work done by the Etruscans, although doubtless there is much more yet to be discovered. M. Castellani, a jeweller of Rome, became one of the most ardent seekers and collectors among these old storehouses, and he made great efforts to produce work resembling the granulated work he found on the finer pieces of gold-work. He found that there existed at St. Angelo, in Vado, a remote district in the Apennines, a traditional knowledge of this particular art, necklaces, ear-rings, and other ornaments known as "navicelle" made there closely resembling the old work both in design and workmanship. Neither M. Castellani, however, nor his workmen succeeded in producing the grains of gold as small as the older work, and how it was done remains a secret to this day. Many other antiquarians have devoted themselves to the exploration of these old Italian tombs, notably Campanari at Toscanella, the Marquis Campana at Cære, Prince Torlonia and M. des Vergers and Alessandro François at Vulci, and to these gentlemen and many others we owe a great debt of gratitude, not only for their indefatigable energy in the face of difficulties of all kinds, but also for their success in revealing to us a glimpse of the luxurious lives the art-loving race of Etruria must have led, as shown by the treasures that have been preserved side by side with the bones of their quondam

owners.

To the collectors whom we have already mentioned we must add the name of Pierre Jean Louis Casimir, Duke de Blacas, who died in exile at Prague in 1839. He was at one time ambassador of

FIG. 3.-ARMLET FOUND AT CERE.-B. C. 600.

France at the court of Naples, and in many respects a typical French royalist. When the Revolution broke out he was still only a boy, and had the good luck to make his escape from France in 1789. Then he attached himself to the suite of "Monsieur," afterwards Louis XVIII., followed him to St. Petersburg and to England, and on the restoration was sent to Naples to arrange the marriage of the Duc de Berri with the Princess Caroline. In 1817 he was at Rome negotiating the

FIG. 4.-ETRUSCAN SAFETY-PIN (B. C. 600) FOUND AT CERE.

Concordat, and from 1823-30 acted as ambassador at Naples. After the fall of Charles X. he once more became an exile, dying, as we have said, at Prague, three years after the King himself. The Duke used his wealth and opportunities at Rome and Naples to some purpose, becoming a great collector of every kind of antique, and filling the office of president of an archæological society at Rome. At his death his treasures passed to his son, who proved himself worthy to possess them by making some additions, and collecting materials for an illustrated catalogue. At the son's death, however, the collection came into the market, at Paris, and was bought en bloc by the trustees of the British Museum in 1866. Of the treasures thus acquired by the British nation we are only concerned here with a very small portion. They comprised Greek and Latin inscriptions, many splendid gems, coins, terracottas, vases, and some exquisite specimens of ancient gold ornaments. These last especially come from ancient Etruria, and it is at these that we desire to look. The chief characteristics of the goldwork in question are the thinness of the metal, its be

FIG. 7-SAFEty-Pin from VULCI.-B. C. 400 (?).

beaten out in designs in low relief, and its further decoration by the superficial application of filigree and small granules of gold. Several moulds of stone have been discovered, and it is probable that the thin gold was pressed into the mould by means of a metal or agate style, and whenever necessary solder was used to fix the separate pieces of gold together. How the granulated work was produced is still un

known; some of it is so fine that without a magnifying-glass it is almost impossible to believe that the patterns are actually laid on with an infinite number of minute spherical grains. The larger work of this kind has been wonderfully imitated by M. Castellani, mentioned above, as it has also by M. Giuliano, a jeweller in London. Several very beautiful specimens of early Etruscan jewelry are further adorned with fine enamelwork, engraved gems, and gems roughly cut, glass and amber, but the pieces illustrated with this paper are entirely made in gold.

ing pressed or

a twisted wire. The angels are made each of two pieces of gold; the front piece has been pressed into a mould, and cut close round at the edges of the figure, and then a flat piece soldered on at the back. The wings are separate, and have lines showing the general disposition of the feathers. Though these ear-rings look massive, they are in reality very light. They belong to the finest period of Etruscan art, and were probably made about the fifth century before Christ. Unfortunately, the place of their discovery is not recorded. There is another similar pair in the same collection, much smaller, and the winged figures, perhaps symbolic of Victory, are holding up discs on which is a design of the full face of the sun, with rays in low relief.

The dolphin ear-rings (Fig. 2) are the same in manner of work, though of a much later date. They are made in two pieces, and are ornamented with tracery in twisted gold filigree. They were found at Tarentum, in southern Italy, and belonged to the collection formed by M. Castellani.

The very curious armlet found at Cære, in Etruria, by M. Castellani (Fig. 3), is one of the most remarkable pieces of work in his collection. It consists of one long strip of gold having two crosspieces, one at each end, all decorated in low relief, and enriched with rows of delicate grains of gold along the lines of the design, and in the Greek fret used as a supplementary framing. The design of three symbolic figures, perhaps of Venus, holding conventional lilies, is repeated four times. On the end pieces is a spirited design of men struggling with lions. The granulated work on this armlet is very delicate, but on a safety-pin in the same collection, of a simple design in itself, is a running pattern drawn so accurately and closely with separate grains of gold that it is hardly possible to realize that it is not traced out in wire.

Another very delicate specimen indeed is the head of a satyr used as a pendant for a necklace. These two specimens are too fine to lend themselves well to illustration, but with the exception of the smallness, the work is identical with that shown on the armlet.

The safety-pin in the form of a lion (Fig. 4) is early Etruscan work. The lion is very finely modelled, and finished with a little chased work on his mane

and head. He is made of thin gold moulded and soldered at the edges, and is very light. The socket for the pin is ornamented with a design in delicate filigree-work. It was found at Cære, the modern Cervetri.

The beautiful gold necklace with pendants (Fig. 5) forms part of the Castellani collection in the British Museum. It consists of a circlet of roses bearing alternate pendants of vases and female heads exquisitely modelled. The roses are each composed of three rosettes of diminishing sizes superimposed, each petal edged with a minute twisted wire, with a little head in the centre. In the centre part of the necklace, where it is thickest, these roses are divided from each other by a piece of gold cut into a design of two crescents back to back, with patterns traced in filigree and a tiny rosette in the centre, and from each of these divisions hangs a little female head in low relief.

All

Of the pendants, the centre head is simply that of a beautiful girl, and the two side ones next to it that have cows' horns and ears represent the goddess Io, who was changed into a cow by Jupiter. The remaining heads are the same as that of Io, only without the horns and ears. these heads are made of thin gold pressed into deep moulds, backed with a flat piece, and then finished with a chasing tool; each has a filigree necklace and a loop for a pendant. Possibly at one time they all had similar pendants to that still remaining on the centre head. The vases are made in a similar way, of two pieces of gold finished with a little chasing. The heads, and drops at each end, are adorned with filigree tracery. This necklace, which is Etruscan work of the finest period about 600 B.C. discovered at Tarentum.

was

The curious ear-rings in the form of a snake with a goat's head bridled (Fig. 6) are very quaint in design; they are of similar work to the Etruscan work, but were found at Corfu. They are part of the "Woodhouse" collection, and are of thin gold ornamented with filigree-work.

The beautiful fibula, or safety-pin (Fig. 7), with the ram's head is a representative of a very large class; safety-pins of a similar construction have been made in all kinds of metals, and apparently by many nations. They have been largely found in Sardinia, at Camirus in Rhodes, and in France; in fact, they almost always