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Our knowledge about the Etruscan civilization is
extremely limited. Our understanding of their
language is still incomplete and most of the
information that is known comes to us through
the Romans, their one-time subjects who grew
to become their masters. The Etruscans lived
under a series of autonomous city-states spread
out across northern and central Italy. By the 3rd
Century B.C., they would be absorbed into the
burgeoning Roman Empire.
This red-figure beaked oinochoe bears a heavy
resemblance to the terracotta wares created in
the Greek colonies of Southern Italy, known in
antiquity as Magna Graecia, revealing a link and
cultural interchange between these two cultures.
The ovoid body depicts a scene of a spotted
feline (likely a leopard or a panther) attacking a
long-eared stag. The painter has captured the
most dramatic moment of the hunt, foregoing
the chase for the moment of impact. Having just
pounced at his prey, the large feline bites into
the neck of the stag, his powerful jaw beginning
to tear into the flesh. There are two small
rosettes highlighted with white paints in the
fields to the left and right of the animals, and a
small plant growing out of the ground beneath
the body of the stag, successfully situating this
scene in a natural outdoor setting. Flanking the
scene are large palmettes, a motif repeated on
the neck of the vessel. These palmettes can also
occurs in the decorative elements of Magna
Graecian works. This beautiful vessel reveals the
aesthetic dialogue that took place between the
native Etruscans and their Greek neighbors to
the south.
- (X.0064)
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