Apulian Red-Figure Patera with Anthropomorphic Handle

A patera was a shallow bowl which could have a long handle and was used to make votive or funerary offerings to the gods. The severed head of the gorgon Medusa decorates the interior of this terracotta example, surrounded by a wreath of vine leaves and grapes and band of wave pattern. In this portrayal, two pairs of entwined snakes frame Medusa's face. She wears white earrings and a diadem with upright palmettes in added white and yellow set in her hair. The back of the bowl is simply edged with a wreath of laurel leaves and berries. A kouros or standing nude youth, whose arms are raised to support the bowl, forms the handle of the vessel. 

A completely preserved patera like this one is quite rare. As this type of vessel is well known in bronze examples, the ocher yellow that covers the body of the youth was probably meant to simulate polished metal.