Terracotta Bell-Krater

The Terracotta Bell-krater is a bowl for mixing wine and water that originated in Greece during the time period between 750-700 BCE. Known as the Geometric period, this piece of art is a perfect example of the Kraters that are commonly found from this period in time. Like the Terracotta Bell-Krater, many of these Kraters are very large and are decorated with geometric and linear designs. When viewing the Terracotta Bell-Krater, its characteristics such as its lines and color, foreshortening, and content help to not only serve as a beautiful work of art, but also serves as a form of poetry that evokes an intimate mood within people who view and understand the artwork as a whole. The aspect of this Krater that is most distinguishable is its
For example, there is woman seated in a chair playing a type of lyre. At first glance, it seems as if the woman is portrayed from both a profile and frontal view. While she appears to be sitting perpendicular to our line of sight, you can also get a clear view of her chest and face as she plays the lyre. In addition to the strange angle the woman appears to sit at, you can also see that many of the limbs of the figures are either elongated and or distorted. Clearly illustrated this way, the author has chosen an unrealistic representation in order to stress other aspects of the art such as it meanings and interpretations. An example of this can be found when viewing the woman holding her hands above her head as if she were ripping her hair out to express the power and sorrow felt from listening to the woman play the lyre. It is representations such as these that contribute to an ongoing message that the author intends to express to his viewers through his
In addition to the sitting woman, there are two figures who appear to be listening to the music being played. Clearly affected by the powerful music that’s played by the woman, the two listeners confide in each other. One of the figures rests their head on their companion’s shoulder, as the other figure makes gestures as if they are deeply moved by the music. Without these two figures, the audience would not be able to understand the importance and power of the music being played by the woman. It is with these figures that much of the art’s meaning and symbolism is transferred to the