Late Etruscan Votive Heads from Tessennano: Production, Distribution, Sociohistorical Context (Studia Archaeologica ("Erma" Di Bretschneider), 118.)

Mouldmade terracotta heads of men, women and children were being produced in Italy from the fourth century BC. This book not only discusses the production, chronology, distribution, style and chemical composition of these heads, but also includes a large catalogue of examples from Tessennanno near Vulci in southern Etruria. Taking examples dating from c.300BC to 100BC, Söderlind argues that the heads were being mass-produced, most probably at Tuscania and not in Tessennano itself, and that through time a degeneration in quality can be seen due to the re-use of old archetypes and worn-out moulds and a lack of new investment in production. Preface; List of illustrations; Bibliography; I. General introduction: aims and methods; II. Catalogue; III. Chronology; IV. Technique; V. The production: location, organization and patterns; VI. Distribution; VII. The Historical Perspective; VIII. General Conclusion; Appendix I. Microscopical analyses by A. Lindahl; Appendix II. Mineralogical characteristics by S. Olsson.