Archaeological Museum of Bologna

This large crater is one of the most typical forms of Apulian pottery production: the so-called "ornate or monumental style". The more characteristic perspective is the presence, over the volutes of the handles, of Medusa masks executed in relief. The scenes depicted on the two sides, which refer to ceremonies related to the funerary cult, are performed with a generous use of white and yellow highlights.

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On the main side we see a small temple or naìskos, with a young warrior seated in the middle bearing a sword and a pair of lances. His position inside the tempietto indicates that he is the deceased. A man and woman, respectively on the right and left of the building, are paying homage to him, one bearing a crown and the other a garland and a box with a sprig of myrtle. On the neck of the vase, a woman’s head emerges from the calyx of a flower, amidst luxuriant plant spirals.

Provenance: University Collection (formerly the Marsili Collection)
Datation: 340–310 BC, Copenhagen Painter 4223
Material: clay
Dimensions: height cm 60; diam cm 35
Inventory #: G 393 (PU 564)