Funerary Urn with Heads of Goats

by admin fsg

Funerary Urn with Heads of Goats
White marble
h.50 cm, w.80 cm
3rd-4th cent. AD – Later reworked

Funerary urn in marble, with an unusual shape showing few reworks, probably made in a later period. The body of the vase appears wide and strongly flared, with a narrow base; a foot and the lid are missing, the handle is made with goat’s head shape as appears in other samples and the edge showing a molding on relief. Starting from the heads, two strongly-carved pomegranates wreaths are adorning the sides of the vase. In the inner part, trapezoidal lozenges are decorating the body with variable floral motifs: these garlands are not comparable with other ancient samples and they were probably added later on the body, during a not specified moment. As well, the two pomegranate wreaths show a simplified work compared to the expressivity of the two goat’s heads. The supporting foot is decorated with a tuft of alternated acanthus leaves.