Wall-paintings on terracotta, purporting to be Etruscan, which have appeared on the Swiss and American art markets in the past 10 years, are shown to be of modern origin. Three independent methods of study were used: 1) consideration of the artistic merits of the scenes depicted; 2) thermoluminescent dating of the terracotta (thin section mineralogical study of the terracotta was also made); and 3) analysis of composition of the pigments used. The latter was carried out using emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, microscopic study and infrared spectroscopy. The painting ground was a mixture of titanium dioxide, bariurn sulfate and zinc white. Pigments used were Naples yellow, chrome green and iron oxide pigments (brown, red and black) of modern origin. -- AATA