Volute Krater (Mixing Bowl)

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

On the front of this vessel a young warrior and a tutor or philosopher are shown standing in a naiskos (tomb) surrounded by attendants with offerings; above them is the head of the mythical poet and singer, Orpheus. On the back of the vase, on either side of a stele topped by a large kylix (drinking cup), is, to the left, a youth with a branch and a patera, and to the right a woman with a mirror and a wreath. Since the krater is a funerary vessel, these figures may be symbolic representations of the dead or they may depict marble statues of the tomb’s occupants.

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