Pithos

Pithos
Produced in Cerveteri
Late 7th – early 6th century BC
Terracotta

Pithoi are large containers used both for storing oil and grain and as decorative objects in the houses and tombs of the wealthy: the pithoi symbolise the fertility of the agricultural estates owned by the aristocracy.

Their red clay fabric and decoration are characteristic of the production of Cerveteri: on the upper part of the vessel’s body runs a frieze of metopes, each depicting a sphinx.