Catalogs the Hilprecht collection of bronzes at the museum. Entries on individual pieces include physical descriptions and notes on ancient symbolism and the piece's relationship with similar items in this and other collections. Bandw photos of pieces are all grouped at the end of the volume. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This well-presented volume presents a catalogue of all 324 Etruscan and Italic objects held by the Museum preceded by eight essays which examine the historical and cultural background to the objects as well as an overview of the archaeology of early central Italy.

The Villanovan and Etruscan collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts not only represent an important source of Classical Antiquity in the United States, but also serve as a historical model of how such artifacts were acquired by large American museums from the late-nineteenth through mid-twentieth centuries. These collections provide museum visitors, scholars, and students with an indepth view into one of antiquity's most fascinating peoples, the Etruscans and their predecessors. The wide-ranging collections contain artifacts from every aspect of Etruscan life such as utilitarian tools and weapons, objects for personal adornment, votive statuettes, and cinerary urns to house the dead. One statuette, the Detroit Rider, is considered to be among the finest surviving examples of Etruscan small sculpture. The catalogue brings together all of these pieces for the first time with photographs and relevant bibliographic sources on their cultural and religious functions in antiquity.