Etruscan necklace, V-VI centuries BC. Gold pendants and agate beads. Provenance: private collection. Measurements: 2.5 cm (gold pendants); approx. 0.5 cm (agate beads) Etruscan necklace formed by pendants in gold representing satyr heads, set between agate beads. The beginning of Etruscan jewelry dates back to the seventh century BC, which has been linked to the increase in the flow of trade between the countries of the western and eastern Mediterranean, the Greek colonization in southern Italy in the eighth century BC and especially with the arrival of elements that are mixed throughout the Tyrrhenian Sea area. In this way, Etruscan metalworking techniques and their production spread rapidly. The most important center of production was in Populonia, an ancient Etruscan city north of Piombino (Livorno), which was an ancient Etrurian seaport in whose vicinity there are vast deposits of iron, with signs of several centuries of activity later became an independent mining center. The most prominent centers of production must have coincided with the introduction of large commercial emporiums that were generally located in the vicinity of the sea, all these places became not only financial, political and cultural centers, but metropolis where there were manufacturers and goldsmiths specialized in the manufacture of jewelry. Already in antiquity the Etruscan culture was surrounded by an aura of mystery; even their Greek contemporaries were intrigued by the sudden emergence of this people as a maritime and commercial power, by this ancient people who, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, "resembled no other in their language and customs". The Etruscans were great craftsmen, known for what has come down to us from them: profusely decorated and very striking tombs, resembling homes in some cases; terracotta sculptures that polychromed with flat and vivid tones (similar to ancient Egyptian works), and used to decorate temples, as sculptures etc.; goldsmithing, pottery, etc.. Dimensions 2.5 cm (gold pendants); approx. 0.5 cm (agate beads)