Etruscan Studies Journal of the Etruscan Foundation Volume 10 Article 2 2007 Some Considerations on the Making and Use of Colours in Etruria During the Middle Orientalising Period Francesco Napolitano Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/etruscan_studies Recommended Citation Napolitano, Francesco (2007) "Some Considerations on the Making and Use of Colours in Etruria During the Middle Orientalising Period," Etruscan Studies: Vol. 10 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/etruscan_studies/vol10/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Etruscan Studies by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Some Considerations on the Making and Use of Colours in Etruria During the Middle Orientalising Period * by Francesco Napolitano 1. EVIDENCE FROM FUNERARY BUILDINGS n Etruria the earLiest evidence for decorating the interiors of funeraL chambers with coLour dates bacK to the middLe OrientaLising period (680-630 B.C.). This tradition con - Icerns a Limited number of tombs owned by famiLies of the dominant sociaL cLass. The decoration (in some cases found onLy in certain parts of the room ,1 in other cases adorning aLL the waLLs and ceiLings 2) distinguishes these tombs from others of the same ranK 3. 1.1. Colours and materials The coLours empLoyed for tomb waLL decoration, as shown in tabLe 1, are mostLy yeLLow and red. As chemicaL anaLyses have reveaLed, these two coLours come from hydroxide and iron oxide (yeLLow and red ochre) ,4 extracted respectiveLy from Limonite and hematite. The use of bLacK is more Limited: it is used to trace the outLine of the drawing ,5 or it is used as a base to intensify red and yeLLow tones .6 White was introduced haLf way through the 7th century, and it was made of KaoLin 7 thinned with spring water. UnLiKe the other coLours, bLacK has a vegetaL origin 8. Observation of the painted chamber waLLs shows that the bLacK pigment distributes itseLf in a homogeneous way on the irreguLarities of the tufaceous surface. This evidence suggests that the bLacK was not appLied dry, but as a fLuid substance. These characteristics (the vegetaL origin and the Liq - uid consistency), and the tone of the coLour itseLf, enabLe one to identify the bLacK of these tombs with the so caLLed “nero di vite” (‘vine-bLacK’): i.e. a Kind of bLacK obtained by coL - Lecting vine branches during the pruning period and carbonising them in seaLed vases. Such a pigment, today soLd as an oiL coLour, has been recommended, particuLarLy for the fresco technique , in painting treatises, from the MiddLe Ages to 1920 .9 – 11 – –––––––––––––––––––--––––––– Making and Use of Colours in Etruria ––––––-----––––––--––––––––– TABLE 1 ETRUSCAN PAINTED TOMBS DATING TO THE MIDDLE ORIENTALISING PERIOD Chronology 10 Places Evidences Colours 680-670 Veii Tomba deLLe Anatre yeLLow, red 11 , bLacK 675-660 Veii Tomba 5 di Monte MicheLe red 675-650 Caere Monte d’Oro: TumuLo red, yeLLow monumentaLe 675-650 Caere Tomba deLLa Nave 1 red, bLacK, white 675-650 Caere Tomba MengareLLi red, bLacK 12 , yeLLow about 650 Caere Tomba Maroi 1 red, bLacK 650-625 13 Caere Tomba deL Sorbo 1 yeLLow, red, bLacK 640-630 Veii TumuLo di Vaccareccia yeLLow, red 650-625 Caere Tomba degLi AnimaLi Dipinti red, bLacK, white 650-625 Caere Tomba dei Leoni Dipinti red, bLacK, white 630-620 Caere Tomba dei Denti di Lupo yeLLow, red, bLacK 650-625 Caere Tomba Campana 1 red 650-625 Caere Via degLi Inferi: Tomba 1 red, yeLLow 650-625 San GiuLiano Tomba Cima yeLLow, red-brown, bLacK, green 14 650-625 VuLci Osteria: Tomba deL SoLe red, white, bLacK e deLLa Luna 1.2. Preparation of the colour Red and yeLLow preparations must aLso have been very simiLar to those used in ItaLy dur - ing the MiddLe Ages ,15 and down to the post WorLd War I period. The basic ingredient was ground on a miLLstone. SmaLL amounts of water were added graduaLLy during this process and the resuLting dense mixture was then coLLected with a wooden or bone spat - uLa, and deposited in containers seaLed with cLoths .16 1.3. Fixation techniques During the middLe OrientaLising period the mixture of pigment and spring water 17 was sometimes appLied directLy on the tufaceous surfaces of the tombs .18 In other cases, in order to fix it better ,19 the painter first covered the waLLs with an uneven Layer of cLay (never thicKer than 1 cm) ,20 and then appLied the desired coLours on the damp surface. Given the high absorption power of damp cLay, such a technique aLLowed for a better adherence of coLour. In at Least one tomb (Tomba Maroi 1 in Caere) the painter appLied both techniques .21 – 12 – –––––––––––––––––––--––-–––––--––--–--–-–––––-––– Francesco Napolitano ––––––-------–-–––––--––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2. Evidence from dwellings The simiLarities between the above-mentioned preparation of tomb waLLs and those of the contemporary houses ,22 as weLL as the visibLe architecturaL connections between the hous - es of Living peopLe and those of the dead ,23 gives rise to the hypothesis that during the middLe OrientaLising period the same technique was used both in tomb decoration and aLso in the houses of the aristocracy. In addition the pieces of treLLisworK pLastered with cLay which have been found in the houses of Acquarossa, San GiuLiano and San GiovenaLe and on the waLLs of buiLdings in RuseLLae and Tarquinia , offer more precise information about this technique in the middLe OrientaLising period. 2.1. Northern Etruria: the plastered walls of Rusellae OnLy RuseLLae aLLows a compLete assessment from the pubLished data. At this Location, the stratigraphic sequences and the pottery evidence definiteLy estabLish two of the buiLdings as middLe OrientaLising: the “casa con recinto” on the north side of the forum, and the remains in “cavità A” of a buiLding, Lying beneath the “casa deLL’impLuvium .”24 There are no recog - nizabLe traces of coLour on the extensive remains of pLastered waLLs in both buiLdings .25 The same is true of the remains of the buiLding beneath the “casa a due vani” on the north-east side of the forum. The stratigraphic sequences show that it was definiteLy buiLt during the second haLf of the 7th century BC. 26 “Casa C ,” in the same area as the “casa deLL’impLuvium ,” dates bacK to the Late OrientaLising period, and its stone waLLs have no traces of pLaster .27 In contrast, fragments from the archaic house “a due vani” pre - serve the remains of coLoured pLaster. This buiLding overLies the above-mentioned remains of the buiLding on the north-east side of the forum .28 Therefore the evidence from RoseLLe shows that coLour on pLaster is not used before the beginning of the 6th century 29 , and that the pLaster couLd be obtained LocaLLy .30 LacK of chromatic traces in the remains of Late OrientaLising dweLLings near Lago d’Accesa ,31 and the fact that the earLiest decorated tombs in the Heba area date bacK to the end of the 7th century ,32 suggest that in this area of Etruria coLour began to be appLied on waLLs at about the same time as at RuseLLae. 2.1. Southern Etruria: plasters from Acquarossa and San Giovenale In southern Etruria, excavations of settLement areas have brought to Light buiLdings that date bacK to earLy and middLe OrientaLising period at Tarquinia ,33 San GiovenaLe ,34 San GiuLiano, Acquarossa ,35 and Veii ;36 however, onLy some daub pieces found in a singLe triaL trench at Acquarossa show remains of pLaster coating .37 On the evidence of the pottery, the Layer in which the pLaster fragments were found dates to the end of the earLy OrientaLising period ,38 and the pLaster fragments probabLy beLong to two buiLdings .39 The pLaster coating is Lime-based white and does not show any other coLour .40 Considering the number of buiLdings Known at Acquarossa of the earLy and mid - dLe OrientaLising periods and the scarcity of evidence, it seems that coLoured decoration on the waLLs of civiL, sacred and domestic buiLdings in this period is exceptionaL. – 13 – –––––––––––––––––––--––––––– Making and Use of Colours in Etruria ––––––-----––––––--––––––––– 3. Evidence from stone statuary In contrast to the architecturaL evidence, on stone statues coLour was appLied directLy, without any cLay Layer. In Etruria this technique is used on the two semata from CasaLe Marittimo (earLy OrientaLising), whose cLothes and beLts are embeLLished by red ochre .41 4. Evidence from painted objects The use of red ochre is evident on a smaLL group of decorated Luxury obJects beLonging to the first haLf of the 7th century BC. 4.1. The ostrich egg vases In the first quarter of the 7th century, the earLiest painted ostrich egg vases (see tabLe 2) are imported. These vesseLs are made by assembLing different materiaLs: ostrich eggs for the body, and ivory or other perishabLe materiaLs for the remaining parts .42 TABLE 2 PAINTED OSTRICH EGGS FOUND IN ETRURIA IN EARLY ORIENTALISING CONTEXTS Chronology Places Colours 700-680 VetuLonia: CircoLo deL moniLe d’argento red, yeLLow-greenish traces 700-680 VetuLonia CircoLo deL moniLe d’argento red, yeLLow-greenish traces 700-680 VetuLonia CircoLo deL moniLe d’argento red In the second quarter of the same century, we find occasionaL exampLes of this Kind of vase in Tarquinia. The deviation from tradition in the scheme of decoration of the egg sheLL from Tomba 55 at Tarquinia ,43 consisting of the sLight reduction of the unpainted surface of the body, shows that it was produced in loco or in another Etruscan centre .44 The Limited range of avaiLabLe pigments forced the artisan to use onLy two coLours i.e.