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Attributed to the
famous 'Berlin Painter', this amphora shows a young warrior and a woman
pouring libations - offering the gods wine by spilling it onto the earth.
He holds a phiale;
she pours from a oinochoe.
Libations were made for many purposes. In this case, either the gods are
being asked to protect the young warrior as he goes off to defend his
city, or perhaps they are being thanked for his safe return.
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Nolan
Amphora
KM 77.7.1
c. 475 BC
Greece |
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This oinochoe, or
wine pitcher, shows the spread of Greek drinking practices to the Italian
peninsula. It is simply decorated with vertical ribbing on its body and
a trefoil-shaped pouring lip. A vessel of similar shape is held by the
woman on the Nolan Amphora above. In addition to ceramics, pitchers were
often made of valuable metals and glass.
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Oinochoe
KM 4663
Etruscan
Bay of Naples, Italy |
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A
wild party is in progress here. Dionysos, god of wine and ecstasy, feasts
while his female followers, or maenads, accompany him. Lekythoi were most
commonly used as oil flasks or perfume vessels. The narrow neck allowed
for careful pouring and slow evaporation of the vessel's contents.
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Lekythos
KM 2596
end of the 6th century BC
Greece? |
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Utensils
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polished and decorated bronze utensils are good evidence for luxurious dining
rituals in antiquity. The ladles were used to serve wine at banquets, or
for making libations (offerings) of wine to the gods on sacrificial occasions.
The delicate spoon, manufactured by soldering separate pieces together,
would have been used for stirring, measuring, and eating. |
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Bronze
wine ladel with handle in the shape of a duck
KM 1496
Roman
Pozzuoli, Italy |
Bronze
spoon
KM 1497
Roman
Pozzuoli, Italy |
Bronze
wine ladel
KM 1872
Roman
Fayoum, Egypt |
