Terracotta funerary plaque

Greek, Attic

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 154

Prothesis (laying out of the dead)

During the Archaic period, burial shafts in Attica were often covered by solid, rectangular, house-like structures with plastered mud-brick walls and slightly sloping roofs. A series of terracotta plaques showing different stages of the funeral were probably set into the outer walls. In this very early example, the deceased is shown lying on a bier surrounded by mourners.

Terracotta funerary plaque, Terracotta, Greek, Attic

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