Four terracotta disks

Unknown

3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Similar objects have been found in tombs at Tarentum (modern Taranto), from which it is clear that they formed part of an elaborate funerary wreath. The terracotta disks, representing clusters of buds or berries, would have been strung on a wire frame together with gilded bronze leaves. Such wreaths would have been a clever but relatively inexpensive way of honoring the dead.

Artist

Unknown

Date

3rd–early 2nd century BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, South Italian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1912