Four terracotta disks

3rd–early 2nd century BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 162

Similar objects have been found in tombs at Tarentum (modern Taranto), from which it is clear that they formed part of an elaborate funerary wreath. The terracotta disks, representing clusters of buds or berries, would have been strung on a wire frame together with gilded bronze leaves. Such wreaths would have been a clever but relatively inexpensive way of honoring the dead.

Artwork Details

Overview

References

Title: Four terracotta disks
Period: Hellenistic
Date: 3rd–early 2nd century BCE
Culture: Greek, South Italian
Medium: Terracotta
Dimensions: diameter of each 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm)
Classification: Terracottas
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1912
Object Number: 12.232.21a–d
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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