'Geometric Krater'

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces the piece of art, "Geometric Krater" from Greece, and specifically addresses the question of why it belongs in a museum. The "Geometric Krater" in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is a period piece, made in Greece about 750-700 B.C. It looks at how kraters were originally used for mixing wine with water and how this piece reflects a more religious and cultural use, since it was used as a grave marker and so depicts a funeral, complete with mourners. It discusses how the "Geometric Krater" is a beautiful piece of art, but also an important and lasting piece of history and, as such, belongs where it can be continually viewed and appreciated.

From the Paper:

"The vase itself is large, about 42 inches high, made out of golden terracotta, and embellished with black and red geometric designs. The entire theme of the piece is geometry and precise designs, which march in distinct rows around the circumference of the piece. At the lip of the vase, which tapers in slightly from the widest point of the vase, there is a rigid Greek key design in red, edged lightly with black. On either side of the Greek key is a tiny band of black "teeth" painted around the piece. These teeth separate the lip of the pot from the body, which is covered in bands of varying widths. The first band beneath the teeth is a wide band depicting the deceased, lying upon his funeral bier. He is rendered in red and black, with a tiny round head looking almost like a stick figure. He is lying on his side, so the viewer can get scrutinize him more clearly, and mourners rendered in stark black, who raise their arms to the heavens, surround him. "

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