Thursday, 12th February 2004 (3840 views)

National Museums of Scotland has announced that its headline summer exhibition will be a showcase for the wonders of Etruscan gold.

Intricate gold work of the 2,500-year-old civilisation will be the main feature of the show.

The collection of almost 500 items is currently touring China and has already travelled to California and Chile.

'The gold jewellery is going to be spectacular. The Etruscans were goldsmiths par excellence. The technique is fantastic,' exhibition curator, Dr Elizabeth Goring, told the Scotsman

Etruscans, contemporaries of the ancient Greeks, used both filigree, decoration done with very fine wires, and granulation, using tiny granules of gold applied to the surface.

Working with a gold powder almost as fine as dust, they created intricate patterns fused to the surface of the gold. 'Even under high magnification, both the complexity and skill is very apparent,' said Dr Goring.

Contemporary jewellery from the museum's own collection will be used to demonstrate the influence the work still has on modern goldsmiths.

The Edinburgh exhibition will be its only UK showing.

 

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