The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have opened "The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy" at the Legion of Honor, the largest U.S. exhibition dedicated to the ancient Etruscan civilization. Curated by Renée Dreyfus, the show brings together approximately 150 objects borrowed from 28 institutions, including the Vatican, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It explores Etruscan engineering, architecture, art, and social customs, including the elevated status of women, and features highlights such as a granulated gold drinking bowl and the bronze Liver of Piacenza.
This exhibition matters because it fills a significant gap in American museum programming, offering the most comprehensive survey of Etruscan culture ever mounted in the United States. By showcasing the Etruscans' profound influence on the Roman Empire—from road-building and winemaking to the numbering system still used today—the show challenges the common perception of ancient Italy as exclusively Roman. It also underscores the career of Dreyfus, who built the antiquities department at the Fine Arts Museums and previously organized blockbuster Tutankhamun exhibitions.