Gold pectoral

A single shaped sheet of gold forms this pectoral from the Regolini-Galassi Tomb at Cerveteri. A goldworker used different punches to emboss repeated figures in bands around a central panel. The worked surface turns a thin sheet into a densely populated image, with creatures and people repeating across its breadth. The bands include grazing animals, lions, griffins and winged women. In the centre, a man holds two rearing lions, while another figure appears among wild animals. Lotus flowers and Phoenician palmettes belong to the same varied design. The decoration connects Etruscan workmanship with imagery circulating around the eastern Mediterranean. The pectoral accompanied the woman in the tomb’s principal burial around 675–650 BC. She also wore a large gold fibula, a fastening for clothing. Together, the pieces covered much of her upper body in gold. The pectoral preserves both the resources devoted to that burial and the goldworker’s repeated actions across the metal.