Pedestalled krater

Greek, Geometric period, about 800-770 BC
From Kamiros, Rhodes, Aegean Sea

Copied in the style of Athenian grave markers

Large pedestalled kraters of this type were first made in Athens, where they served as markers over graves of men or boys. The Athenian pots were widely exported and imitated, as is shown by this example from the island of Rhodes.

Potters from Rhodes not only copied the shapes of the Athenian pots, but also the decorative motifs, including the meander or Greek key pattern, as used here. While on the Athenian pots the geometric decoration generally occupies the entire surface of the vase, in Rhodes the patterns were kept to carefully restricted areas, so that the vases are much darker in appearance than the Athenian examples.

J. Boardman, Early Greek vase painting: 11t (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)

D. Williams, Greek vases (London, The British Museum Press, 1999)