In central Italy, the artistic imagination of the Etruscan jewellers was at its height between 700 and 400 BC. Trade with the East played a decisive role in the economic power of the Etruscans and influenced the design of their jewellery. Etruscan goldsmiths were highly skilled, particularly in their use of granulation (powder-like gold grains used ornamentally) and filigree (fine wires). Motifs such as acorns, lotus, palmettes, sphinxes and lions were foreign imports but there were also local types, such as the bag-shaped (a baule) and grape-cluster (a grapollo) earrings.