Travertine cinerary urn

Unknown

2nd century BCE · Travertine · Greek and Roman Art

The reclining woman on the lid holds a fan in her right hand and a pomegranate in her elongated left hand. The frieze below depicts the murder of a woman, perhaps Ismene, youngest child of Oedipus and sister of Antigone, or perhaps the Matricide of Alkmene, mother of Herakles. At least twenty other urns, most from Volterra, have been attributed to the same workshop, the so-called Officina di Poggio alle Croci. Vestiges of the original polychromy are visible on the hair of some figures and on the footstool at bottom center.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd century BCE

Medium

Travertine

Culture

Etruscan

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Purchase, 1896