Terracotta bowl on a high stand

Unknown

4th quarter of the 8th century BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

These objects, consisting of one piece, evolved from containers placed upon a support, frequently a tripod; the prototypes would have been of bronze. The rectangular cutouts in the stands also recall metalworking. In a funerary context, such "fruit stands", as they are often called, probably held offerings. This bowl on high stand belongs to a group of eight terracotta vases (10.210.1-.8) that are said to be from Athens. Despite the absence of archaeological record, they were probably found together in a tomb. Such groups are well attested in excavated burials. Moreover, the iconography of the two neck-amphorae, particularly the one with the mourning women on the neck, is appropriate for a funerary purpose. The group displays stylistic changes that occurred from about 730-700 BCE, a time of artistic innovation that resulted in the end of the formal precision of the Geometric style and the rise of the exuberant Protoattic style.

Artist

Unknown

Date

4th quarter of the 8th century BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1910