Centuripe Urn (Lekanis) with Lid (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
The elaborate vases from Centuripe, Sicily, were decorated with tempera paints and feature scenes of farewell (as on the lid of this vase), marriage, and Dionysiac ritual. The range of colors and complexity of the scenes hint at the now-lost wall decorations of the Greek world. The five precariously stacked sections of this vessel suggest it was made as a tomb deposit, although it imitates containers used to store food and precious objects.
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
“Five Years of Collecting,” Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA): 25 March-4 May 1980.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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