Ancient Greek Culture: Terracotta Krater

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Terracotta Krater is a geometric krater from the 8th Century B.C.E. (1) It was made from Terracotta which is baked earth. (1) Many of these types of vases have been reconstructed because when Terracotta breaks it breaks in chunks which easier to reassemble. (1) It is called geometric krater because of its geometric style that is present in the pattern of the vase. Each section is framed with rings.(1) The vase presents humans forms and animals forms but they too are in geometric shapes and patterns. (1) This is a very large vase. The purpose of the vase wasn’t used as a storage vessel. Instead it was used as a grave marker. Only the wealthy Greeks could afford a vase such as the Terracotta Krater. The base of the krater had perforations. They …show more content…

The deceased is laid on a bearer. Mourners are visible on each side of the deceased.(1) This scene doesn’t give you many details about the deceased. (1) One reason for that is because instead of celebrating the dead like many other cultures, the Greeks celebrated life rather than death. (1) The scene on the vase focus more on the mourners which are symbolized as living.(1) Also if you look closely at the bottom you will see the artist used overlapping for depth. (1) He took three horses and combined them to have one body and 12 legs. Although he uses different geometric shapes and pattern the scene on this vase. It is still very easy to read and interpret.Although these two vases are both from Ancient Greece. They are from two different periods, different style, and have different uses. The Terracotta Krater is from the geometric period and Achilles and Ajax black figure amphora is from the archaic period. The Terracotta Krater were used as a gravesite marker. They used holes in the bottom of the vase to offer the dead libations.(1) It was one of the first vases to use figurative art. Achilles and Ajax black figure art was an amphora. Which is a storage vessel with a long neck and high handles. It was used to hold water or wine and other food

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