Twelve cases by the windows of the hall are used to display two kinds of Etruscan ceramics, belonging to the Torcop and Phantom groups.
Also by the windows, a glass showcase presents masterpieces of the Hermitage’s collection of Etruscan bronzes: a 6th-century BC tripod censer from Vulci bearing a depiction of the Labours of Hercules; a “Diomedes” statuette from the 3rd century BC and a 5th-century BC lion’s head that is a fragment of a lost statue of a Chimera.
The cases by the wall opposite contain Southern Italian vases from Campania, Lucania, Apulia, Paestum and Sicily. Particularly noteworthy is the Apulian Gnathia-ware pottery, of which the Hermitage has one of the finest collections anywhere outside Italy.
A gem of the collection is the celebrated black-glazed Cumaean Vase from the 4th century BC. Its beautiful proportions and rich decoration with painted relief friezes have earned it the title “Queen of Vases”.
