Terracotta krater
The prothesis scene—the laying out of the deceased—in the central metope, or square panel, on each side of this monumental krater shows that it was meant for a funerary purpose, a grave marker. The scenes below narrate either a specific event that took place during the deceased’s lifetime, or a tale about an ancestral heroic expedition, as the warriors’ hourglass-shaped shields belong to the preceding Late Bronze Age. A continuous frieze shows battle scenes on two warships and two processions of armed warriors. A figure, interpreted as a captive woman, is tied to the deck under one ship’s sail. A warrior climbs onto the ram of the other ship to attack an archer with his spear. Sword duels take place in the stern of both vessels.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta krater
- Artist: Attributed to the Workshop of New York MMA 34.11.2
- Period: Middle Geometric II
- Date: ca. 775 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta
- Dimensions: H. 39 in. (99.1 cm)
diameter 37 in. (94 cm) - Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1934
- Object Number: 34.11.2
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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