Chariot kraters like this one are so named because of the chariots that figure prominently in their decoration. The artist renders the horses in considerable detail, and may well have studied them from life. In front of each chariot, there are two horses, standing shoulder to shoulder; you can see one eye of each and the profile of their two heads.

By contrast, the human figures riding in the chariot are treated more summarily. The artist wraps their bodies in cloaks, as though he were not able to study them directly. They are probably riding side by side, but they appear one behind the other.

Two different modes of representation may be operating here, suggesting two different types of existence. Perhaps the horses belong to an earthly reality, and the human figures have entered some other realm. On the ground behind the chariot, a female figure stands, her arms upraised. Her face and headdress look like those of the men in the chariot, but she is much taller and has a cylindrical substantiality that they lack. She resembles the terracotta statuettes in the next case over to your left, figures that come from sanctuaries and tombs in various parts of the Greek world. Like them, the woman on the chariot krater might have something to do with death or divinity. She may be human and a mourner, or a goddess, different from the men but present with them in some exalted state.

The chariot krater is a product of the Mycenaean culture of mainland Greece. If you want to hear Assistant Curator of Greek Art, Sean Hemingway, speak about chariot kraters and the Mycenaean culture, press the green play button now.