Ancient Funerary Vases of Southern Italy Explored at the Getty Villa

Talk sheds light on the region’s native people by examining the imagery on monumental vases from the 4th century BC

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Mar 02, 2015

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Ancient Apulia (modern day Puglia in southeastern Italy) is known today for its elaborately decorated vases depicting mythological motifs, many found in funerary contexts.

Yet little is known about the people using the vases or the artisans who produced these remarkable works of art. Join archaeologist Thomas Carpenter on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at 7:30pm at the Villa Auditorium as he sheds light on the region’s native people in a talk examining the imagery on monumental vases from the 4th Century BC and the funerary assemblages in which they were found.

Richly decorated with complex imagery and narrative scenes, a number of the vases depict figures in local dress, indicating the distinctive ethnicity of the Apulians, while others draw upon Greek tragedies and point to a deep, sometimes abstruse, interest in Greek myths and theatre. Thomas Carpenter, a professor of classics at Ohio University specializing in Greek archaeology, religion, and iconography, and most recently co-editor of the book The Italic People of Ancient Apulia: New Evidence from Pottery for Workshops, Markets, and Customs, will speak to the ways in which these large figure-decorated vases served as proud statements of identity.

This lecture complements the exhibition Dangerous Perfection: Funerary Vases from Southern Italy, featuring thirteen of these elaborately decorated Apulian vases, on view at the Getty Villa through May 11, 2015.

Tickets are free, but a reservation is required. Reserve online or by calling (310) 440-7300.

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