Bronze in the Ancient Mediterranean

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Copper, and its more adaptable alloy bronze, which is a mixture of copper, tin and lead, were the basic metals of the ancient Mediterranean world until the spread of iron working after 1000 A.D. Even when iron was common for making tools and weapons, bronze remained the most important metal for luxury objects and for fine sculptures to the end of the ancient period.

Roman Sarcophagi

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Like portrait sculpture, the popularity of carved marble sarcophagi for burials in the Roman Empire reflected religious beliefs. The Romans of the Republican Period burnt their dead and buried the ashes in urns, which were left in family tombs.

Greek Gold

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
During the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek artists, as part of a larger craft world in the Eastern Mediterranean, produced splendid gold ornaments, which were often buried with the dead in tombs. By the 7th century B.C.E., the Greeks were once again in contact with Egyptian and Near Eastern craft workers. Many exquisite ornaments come from this time.

Etruscan Gold

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Etruscan goldsmiths' work is some of the most brilliant metal craftsmanship anywhere in the world. Drawing on the far older traditions of Egyptian and Near Eastern metal work, as well as Central European metallurgy, Etruscan jewelers of the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.E. created granulated and filigreed ornaments of lavish richness and complexity. 
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