This chapter combines a cultural approach (Naso) with a philological (Benelli) one to examine the emergence of Etruscan alphabetic writing in the eighth century BC. Naso outlines changes in settlement patterns and major social...
moreThis chapter combines a cultural approach (Naso) with a philological (Benelli) one to examine the emergence of Etruscan alphabetic writing in the eighth century BC. Naso outlines changes in settlement patterns and major social transformations in Etruria in this period, largely to be connected with maritime trade and openness to the broader Mediterranean world. Benelli focuses on the mechanism through which the new idea was taken up. He notes that epigraphy is by no means a necessary and immediate consequence of the adoption of writing skills. The oldest Etruscan inscriptions provide evidence of a system of gift exchange amongst the newly forming aristocracy which was strongly tied up with ritualized friendship between kinship groups and peer groups. It is within this milieu that alphabetic writing was articulated and disseminated. All forms of Etruscan letters can be traced back to Euboean prototypes, with the possible exception of the so-called san.
In the Shefton Collection 1 there are two Etruscan bronze funnels (infundibula), which were once part of wine drinking sets. There are more than a hundred examples of such funnels and a comprehensive overview is lacking, it is therefore...
moreIn the Shefton Collection 1 there are two Etruscan bronze funnels (infundibula), which were once part of wine drinking sets. There are more than a hundred examples of such funnels and a comprehensive overview is lacking, it is therefore useful to discuss the typology and the geographical distribution of these distinctive implements. Etruscan Funnels In his invaluable career Brian Shefton wrote several contributions on ancient pottery and bronzes, especially bronzes from pre-Roman Italy. 2 New acquisitions in the Greek museum at Newcastle University, now the Shefton Collection, have been described by him, including one infundibulum (inv. no. 139, Fig. 13.1). 3 A second piece (inv. no. 667, Fig.13.2), is still unpublished, but Brian Shefton with his great generosity spoke to me about it and provided me with some photographs. In my opinion the handle of this piece was attached to the strainer at a later date, because the bronze patina has two different colours, green on the strainer and dark brown on the handle. This type is the commonest form of funnel handle, but the related strainers always have a figured hinge and a funnel; whereas the Newcastle example has no hinge. 4 Around the end of the seventh century BC in Etruria a new implement was developed as part of the wine drinking set. Modern scholars named it with the Latin word infundibulum, which is just convention (Sauer 1937; Zuffa 1960). An infundibulum is a very elaborate funnel, consisting of a solid cast bronze horizontal handle and a funnel. The funnel is made up of a hammered cup with several holes and a cast solid tube with a central boring and is decorated with horizontal lines on the external side. A strainer, with rivets, was attached to the handle by a hinge. Both hinge and strainer could be raised backwards and the funnel used alone. The long handles of the infundibula often end in a duck's head with a long bill, more rarely they end in a ram's head.
Euboean Pendent Semicircle Skyphoi found in the Early Iron Age tombs in Pontecagnano (SA)