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Krater

1275 BCE-1225 BCE
17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm)

Mycenaean artist
Greece

Mycenaean; made in Cyprus

Object Type: Ceramics

Medium and Support: Terracotta, paint

Credit Line: R. T. Miller Fund

Accession Number: 1951.204

Location: Currently on view

Link to this object

Collection: Frederic Morgan Collection

A krater is a large, wide-mouthed jar, often used for mixing wine and water. These two kraters [51.203, 51.204] were found on Cyprus, an important island in the trade routes of the ancient Mediterranean and location of a significant Mycenaean colony. They likely served a funerary function, holding wine at the funeral feast, or containing the cremated remains of the deceased.

The similar scenes on these two kraters represent the popular Mycenaean decorative motif of horse-drawn war chariots. The vase painter represented the two horses as a single body with two heads, two tails, and two pairs of forelegs and hind legs.

The scene may refer to honors for a fallen warrior as described by Homer in the Iliad, where, during the Trojan War, the Greek hero Achilles led a solemn chariot procession in tribute to his dead companion Patroclus.

[Gallery label text, 2009]

Provenance

Frederic G. Morgan (1866-1920), Aurora, New York; purchased from his estate by the Gallery in 1951

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword

Greek

horses

2000 - 1000 BCE

ceramics

kraters

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Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Honoring R. T. Miller Memorial Art Gallery 10/1/1958 - 10/31/1958
Prints from the Permanent Collection 1/9/1982 - 2/28/1982

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Article Author: Rhodes, Randall. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988. Page Number: 14-15
Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Memorial Art Gallery. Gallery Notes. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1935-1995. Volume Number: 17, Issue Number: 5. Issue Date: April-May, 1952.
Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
Article Title: Chariots. Article Scope: Mention. Emily Vermeule and Vassos Karageorghis. Mycenaean Pictorial Vase Painting. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. Page Number: 36, Figure Number: V.1
Article Author: Karageorghis, Vassos. Article Title: Two Mycenaean Chariot Craters at Rochester, U.S.A.. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. Athens, Greece: École Française d'Athenes Volume Number: XCIII, Issue Number: 1. Issue Date: 1969. Page Number: 162-173
Article Author: Rystedt, Eva. Article Title: New Light on a Mycenaean Pictorial Vase Painter. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Bulletin of the Medelhavsmuseet. Stockholm, Sweden: Medelhavsmuseet Volume Number: 23 Issue Date: 1988. Page Number: 21-32
Scene. Rochester, NY: Arts & Cultural Council, 1969-1976.
Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Marjorie Searl and Lu Harper. The Memorial Art Gallery: 100 Years. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2013.