Greek Objects

Field Trip to the MBA

The first Greek object I chose was the pink funerary urn with a lid. It dates from the Hellenistic period and was found in Centuripe in Sicily. This piece of pottery has polychrome-painted decorations and is rather large, it is about the size of a small child. The urn's lid has a circular handle at the top and is decorated with the portrait of a woman, possibly the deceased. The body of the urn is decorated with a relief-like geometrical pattern and small lion heads on top, and paintings of women in the middle. The feet of the urn is plain grey and has three different levels. Because of this object we can know how the Greeks disposed of their dead. They probably burned them and kept the ashes and the bones in urn such as this one. I chose this object because its bright pink colour caught my eye, all the other vases and potteries being black and red.

The second Greek object I chose was a sculpture of a woman

The Sarcophagus is made of lead and repoussé decorations cover its surface. Some of the decorations include sphinxes, Corinthian columns, and various plants. This object informs us about the Romans funerary practices, that they did not burn all their dead but actually conserved some. I chose this object because I found it a little morbid that an object that used to hold a dead person is displayed in a museum.

The Near Eastern object I chose is a part of a bronze horse bridle found in Luristan in Iran that dates from the eighth or seventh century B.C.E. The bridle, decorated with winged ibexes, is proof that neither the Greeks nor the Romans, although they knew how to ride horses, were the ones to discover how to ride horses. It was an important discovery that facilitated travel, transportation and warfare, and both the Romans and the Greeks were inspired by another civilization to use that