homoarchaeologicus:Krater from the Geometric Period, terracotta, ca. 750-730BC, Greece.Monumental va
homoarchaeologicus:Krater from the Geometric Period, terracotta, ca. 750-730BC, Greece.Monumental vases like this one were used as grave markers during the Geometric Period (kraters for men and amphoras for women). On the largest part of the vase is depicted a scene called “prothêsis” in which the deceased is laid on a bier and surrounded by mourners. The mourners are represented with the hands on their heads because it symbolises their wailing. The charriots and shields depicted under the prothêsis are probably there to show that the deceased had a powerful ancestry.Courtesy of Metmuseum. -- source link