Volute Krater (Mixing Bowl)
On the front of this vessel a young warrior and a tutor or philosopher are shown standing in a naiskos (tomb) surrounded by attendants with offerings; above them is the head of the mythical poet and singer, Orpheus. On the back of the vase, on either side of a stele topped by a large kylix (drinking cup), is, to the left, a youth with a branch and a patera, and to the right a woman with a mirror and a wreath. Since the krater is a funerary vessel, these figures may be symbolic representations of the dead or they may depict marble statues of the tomb’s occupants.
Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)