#cinerary
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anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
#SarcophagusSaturday today offers us a terracotta #cinerary #urn from #Athens, now in the #BritishMuseum. It dates from c. 300 BCE, and the painted and gilded #griffins show a strong #Persian influence, an inheritance from the by then divided empire of #Alexander the Great. #AncientBluesky 🏺
TERRACOTTA CINERARY URN, C. 300 BCE. THE BRITISH MUSEUM This terracotta urn has the form of a vase with a conical lid, and the summit of the lid has a pinnacle in the shape of a small vase serving as a handle. White paint, worn away in places, covers the surface. The only decoration is four painted and gilded bull-griffin protomes at the shoulder of the urn. In C5 BCE Athens this urn would be unthinkable, due to the strong Achæmenid Persian influence visible in the griffins, but the Athens of the end of the C4 BCE was quite different. It had lost even nominal independence and after the battle of Lamia in 323 was subject to Macedonian rule, but the empire of Alexander and his successors brought some cultural cross-pollination. The ashes and bone fragments of 2 people were found inside.
January 10, 2026 at 3:21 PM
alaintruong.bsky.social
Cinerary urn with impressed decoration, Silla kingdom, Three Kingdoms period, late 7th century. Unglazed stoneware with kiln gloss. H x W x D: 11.5 x 13.2 x 13.2 cm. Gift of Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby in memory of Rolf Jacoby, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, F1991.87a-b © Smithsonian Institution
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 AM
cmagreekroman.bsky.social
Cinerary Urn https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.130
Cinerary Urn
December 28, 2025 at 2:09 PM
cmagreekroman.bsky.social
Hydria https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.23
This vessel gets its name from a shape of earthenware jar that was used to carry water. This bronze hydria was probably used not to carry water but as a cinerary urn (kalpis). The figure on the handle is the mythological siren, a human-headed bird.
December 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
miadecorativearts.bsky.social
Cinerary Urn and Lid https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1833/
this cinerary urn appears to be made to resemble an Etruscan dwelling, with the lid of the box forming the roof; decorated with red, green, brown and possibly black pigment applied to the surface; four nude males, one draped female and seven tree or plank forms
December 10, 2025 at 7:11 PM
phyllida.bsky.social
It reminds me of crickets on ancient Roman cinerary urns, making me wonder whether the child might be deceased & is being commemorated.
December 4, 2025 at 7:46 PM
kevin-brown.bsky.social
Visiting the memorials of Titanic victims in & around London, many of them commemorated by a brass plaque or inscription on a family grave in the absence of a body, & the rare actual grave or cinerary urn of a recovered body returned home -field work for book & talks
November 22, 2025 at 11:03 AM
chapps.bsky.social
This bronze lebes (for mixing water and wine) used as a cinerary urn is a favorite of mine. I love the parade of mounted Amazons around the lid, each holding a bow. Very Scythian, actually. The larger couple may be dancing or he could be abducting her; she wears an Etruscan outfit. 🏺 1/

📸 me
Closeup of the lid of a bronze lebes, which was used as a cinerary urn. The figures on the lid of the bowl include a male and female couple (either dancing or possibly showing the man abducting the woman). Four female mounted archers (Amazons) encircle the lid; some turn to shoot backwards. These figures are very much like Scythian warriors. The statuette of the woman is shown in Etruscan clothing; the man wears a cap and there's the suggestion (maybe) of a Dionysian wreath on his head, appropriate for a vessel made to mix and serve wine, and also appropriate for the funerary context. The figures have a green patina, with some of the original golden bronze peeking through, particularly on the bows of the Amazons. The bulbous body of the vessel is a patchwork of golden bronze and green patina. West Greek or Etruscan, ca. 500-480 BCE, Capua, Campania. Height: 67.31 cm (26.5 in.) British Museum, London (1855,0816.1)
November 18, 2025 at 4:28 PM
hwaddr.bsky.social
Ah oui. Liturgy US (aka Liturgy A.D.) c'est du gros gruik barbare: les 3 de Brodequin + le chanteur de Cinerary ca déplace des murs au petit doigt. Un seul album en 2004 et fin de l'histoire tout aussi vite 😅
November 16, 2025 at 5:32 PM
gonemage.bsky.social
delivery jams

Degraved - Spectral Realm of Ruin
Deeds of Flesh - Reduced to Ashes
Malignancy - Intrauterine Cannibalism
Mortal Decay - Forensic
Seance - Fornever Laid to Rest
Cinerary - Rituals of Desecration
Degrade - Lost Torso Found
November 15, 2025 at 5:50 PM
englishwordbot.bsky.social
The word "cinerary" on a stylized background
November 13, 2025 at 9:40 AM
aicbyzantine.bsky.social
Cinerary Urn https://www.artic.edu/artworks/29231/
This cinerary urn likely held the cremated remains of two individuals, presumably a husband and wife. The lid features portraits of the deceased flanked by symbols of the Roman goddess of love, Venus (the Greek Aphrodite), including dolphins and winged erotes, the goddess’s mythological companions. The front of the urn contains two rectangular panels, which were intended for personalized inscriptions but were instead left blank. Surrounding the panels are garland swags and an ox skull, both motifs associated with sacrificial rites, as well as rabbits, symbols of love and immortality. Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
November 4, 2025 at 11:50 AM
theclassicslibrary.bsky.social
A 1st century urn from Volterra depicts a scene from the Greek mythological siege by Polynices against Thebes, to remove his brother Eteocles from the throne and become king himself. Both brothers were sons of the late Oedipus.

3/7
Cinerary urn from Volterra showing the siege of Thebes by ‘The Seven’, except the gate depicted appears to be that of Volterra.
November 2, 2025 at 9:37 AM
cmagreekroman.bsky.social
Cinerary Box https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.560
Cinerary Box
October 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM
toadlett.bsky.social
#Objectober 9: Weight! just some big beefy guys.
pencil drawings of two statues holding funerary vessels - a minotaur with a coffin lashed to its back, and a kappa-like demon grasping a large urn on its back. 17. Two of the more striking examples of grave guardians as statuary figures which physically incorporate the vessel in which the deceased is interred. This figure from the labyrinth-tomb of Emperor Gnialogous V11 holds the remains of one of the emperor’s highest-ranking generals. damage to the sarcophagous suggests it slipped from the back of the statue several times, before being secured with the cords that hold it. accounts from the time suggest this may be because the sculptors building the statue did not know exactly who would be inside the sarcophagus, as the emperor’s favourites changed so rapidly, and so could not account for the weight or size of the body. Conversely, guardians such as this cask-demon from the Lower Red Delta were often mass-produced, designed to fit the large cinerary urns used as standard to store the cremated remains of the deceased. The designs of these demons gained progressively longer legs as flooding in the delta increased, and sculptors tried to ensure the remains would be kept above the water. Look at the stick the minotaur holds. It is made of stone, but someone gave it a stick to lean on. Look at how the demon strains to keep its head above the water level. Can you see the tide-marls on its legs? Do the rocks need our help? pencil sketch of a stone sarcophagus. the sides are carved with skull and talon designs. the lid is carved to look lik a sleeping figure, with a bird-headed goblin crouched on top of them, its talons pressed to their head. 18. Little is known about this unusual sarcophagus, which is beleived to originate from somewhere in the Argish Islands. Analysis of the remains inside suggest the occupant may have been alive when interred, and a collection of iron pendants and coins placed around the body may have had ritual significance, perhaps to denote a person of religious importance, as this is obviously a richly detailed burial vesesl. At some point the face of the sleeping figure carved into the sarcophagus lid has been destroyed, roughly carved away with a chisel or similar implement, and though we do not know why this was done, it is notable that the figure crouched atop the “sleeper” has been left untouched. Look at the worn stone of the sarcophagus. it has been carved to look like a soft bed for the figure to lie on. Look how the figure’s flesh has also been carved to look soft, and bend under the weight of the creature that crouches on top of them. Look at the creature’s talons, how they curve so close to where the sleeper’s face would have been. Is it soft, the place where you sleep? Are there ever talons, or chisels there?
October 23, 2025 at 10:16 PM
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
#ReliefWednesday shows us the rich #relief work of the #cinerary #urn of one C. Iulius Saecularis, from c. 90 CE. The nude youth, a bit chubby, holds a #butterfly in his right hand, symbol of the #spirit. He doesn't want to let go of his earthly life. #Dionysiac symbols abound. #AncientBluesky 🏺
This white rectangular cinerary urn front was first noted in the Villa Giulia in its heyday, and found its way into the Borghese collection from which it was acquired by the National Roman Museum in 1893. It's a densely carved, rather beautiful relief crammed full of imagery. The youth, unfortunately emasculated by time, stands in a scallop-shell niche, which is usually an allusion to Venus, when the figure is female. He's wearing a lacerna or half cloak but is otherwise heroically nude. He is dressed for his trip to the Underworld. He's looking to his right (our left), his hands raised to chest level. In his right hand he holds a butterfly, symbol of the spirit, and in his left a tiny bird, possibly a peacock or even a parrot. At his feet are a dog and a monkey, symbols of attachment to earthly life. The vegetation on either side of the niche allude to the Underworld: olive, vine, and pine. At right a tall candelabrum culminates in a plaque with a Gorgoneion, an apotropaic protector.
October 22, 2025 at 7:12 PM
gbpiranesi.bsky.social
Cinerary vase you see over the front door of the Palace of the Villa Panphili https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-battista-piranesi/cinerary-vase-you-see-over-the-front-door-of-the-palace-of-the-villa-panphili
Cinerary vase you see over the front door of the Palace of the Villa Panphili
October 10, 2025 at 2:18 PM
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
If you were the woman, and I were the man / Would I send you yellow roses / Would I dare to touch your hand? For #EpigraphyTuesday this #Flavian #cinerary #urn has a #marriage scene carved on it but names two #Greek freedmen. #AncientBluesky 🏺
CINERARY URN WITH DEXTRARUM IUNCTIO, C. 80 CE. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN Dis Manibus. / C(aius) Iulius Hermes / vix(it) ann(is) XXXIIII m(ensibus) V dieb(us) XIIII / C(aius) Iulius Andronicus / conlibertus fec(it) / bene merenti de se This beautiful marble urn is richly carved with an ædicule at lower centre containing a married couple holding each other's right hands, the husband at left, his wife at right. They are flanked by two spiral columns supporting a pierced pediment. At the two front edges are two pilasters decorated with an unusual leaf pattern with Ionic capitals connected by a garland of carved fruit. The inscription commemorates two freedmen: C. Iulius Hermes, the deceased, made at the behest of his fellow, Andronicus. As a pre-made urn, it seems a strange choice for one man to buy for another. Yet the catalogue of this museum doesn't even consider that these two were a couple, which was my first thought.
September 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
gbpiranesi.bsky.social
Cinerary vase you see over the front door of the Palace of the Villa Panphili https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-battista-piranesi/cinerary-vase-you-see-over-the-front-door-of-the-palace-of-the-villa-panphili
Cinerary vase you see over the front door of the Palace of the Villa Panphili
September 2, 2025 at 8:01 AM
recuerdalo.bsky.social
#Ancient #Etruscan cinerary #urns. (Santa Maria della Scala, Siena). #photography #museums #memorials #funeraryart #ancientBluesky #tombs #SatArtDay #art #death #eastcoastkin
August 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
bwallower.bsky.social
#ReliefWednesday
Fully female sirens (without usual birdy bodies) each playing a different instrument.
Odysseus is tied to the mast so he can hear the sirens without sailing his ship onto rocks where they await. He tries to wriggle free....
Etruscan alabaster cinerary urn 2C BC. 🏺
In British Museum
Three sirens are upper left; ship is on right, sailing away. Odysseus is tied to the mast, but his left leg is lifted up, while 2 other men appear to be trying to restrain him.
August 27, 2025 at 8:18 AM
cmagreekroman.bsky.social
Hydria https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.23
This vessel gets its name from a shape of earthenware jar that was used to carry water. This bronze hydria was probably used not to carry water but as a cinerary urn (kalpis). The figure on the handle is the mythological siren, a human-headed bird.
August 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM
greekmythcomix.bsky.social
🏺HYDRIA
HYDRIA - 'water vessel' Wide-bellied for holding water, narrow neck for pouring, wide foot for stability. Has three handles: two on the sides for carrying, one at the back of the top for pouring. Also used to hold the votes of judges and as cinerary urns.
August 23, 2025 at 10:13 AM
greekmythcomix.bsky.social
🏺STAMNOS
STAMNOS - 'that which stands' Jar for storing and serving liquids, but often used as cinerary (cremation) urns. Wide, squat shape and flat foot for stability. A wide mouth for access. Two handles for carrying steadily. Often made with a lid.
August 23, 2025 at 10:12 AM
hamsculptures.bsky.social
Lid of a Cinerary Urn with Reclining Figure https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/292335
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
August 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM