Bucchero amphora depicting a procession of horsemen and a goddess’s heads
- Etruria, 6th c. BC.
- Inv. АВ 3482
- Clay, varnish
- H. 62 cm.
- Conservators: E. Minina, I. Sivova, 2003-2004
Bucchero vases (made from clay that acquired a specific dark colour after firing, which made the vessels look like bronze) were created during the heyday of Etruria ( 7th - 6th centuries BC) for funeral purposes. They were notable for their large size, expressive silhouette and rich decoration. This amphora has two relief belts on the body, which separate the scenes. The lower part shows a procession of riders, an elite part of society to which the deceased could belong. The upper part is decorated with convex elements. The neck on both sides has ebossed heads of a goddess with hairs up to her shoulders, and on the rim there are four similar heads, but smaller in size. The goddess is clearly related to the ritual of death and rebirth, she is a patron of cosmic life. The now lost lid of the vessel was probably decorated with a figure of a rooster - the bird of the sun, messenger of dawn, as a symbol of new life.
Conservation
The amphora is reassembled from large fragments with tinted filled in losses. Before restoration, the clay was damp and dirty, attachments with heads were falling off.