The Etruscans

Engraving as a form of ornamentation does not appear to have appealed very much to the Greeks, even in the colonies known as Magna Graecia in Italy. However, the Etruscans, a cultured people who were very uncomfortable neighbours of Rome, then a rising power, specialized in this art. They were adept at chiselling designs and filling in the grooves with gilding, etc. Their heritage includes a priceless range of interesting bronze objects. One notable example, on view in London, represents a racing scene in relief with two horsemen riding over a fellow-competitor who had fallen.