Creative Commons License
Pinax (Plaque) with Funerary Scene
(Ancient Greece )
"Pinakes" (singular "pinax") are decorated plaques made usually of terracotta, but also of wood, ivory, stone, or metal, which were often dedicated as offerings in sanctuaries. The holes were used to hang them within the sanctuary on walls, trees, or even on the cult image of the deity. The terracotta examples were produced by the same pottery workshops that made vases. This black-figure example shows a "prothesis" scene, the lying-in-state of the deceased on a bed, surrounded by his family members, some of whom tear their hair in mourning.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Moise Emmanuelides, Athens, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Joseph Brummer, New York and Paris, 1924, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. P1225]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Greece, Attica (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 9/16 x W: 6 5/8 in. (9 x 16.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1925
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.225