Magna Graecia: Greek Art From South Italy and Sicily > About the Exhibition > Reggio Calabria & Sybaris > Pinakes
 
 
Pinax with Abduction of Kore-Persephone (about 490-470 BC)
Locri Epizephirii
Terracotta, mold-made, hand-finished, painted
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, inv. 58016
[Cat. no. 36]

Pinakes

Originally brightly painted, these terracotta tablets sculpted in relief (pinakes) were left as dedications at the sanctuary of Persephone in the city of Locri Epizephirii. More than 5,000 pinakes and fragments of pinakes from this site have been excavated. The most common scene depicts Hades's abduction of Kore to the underworld, where she took the name Persephone. Her periodic return to the upper world ensured seasonal regeneration. Other scenes illustrate processions and rituals.
Pinax Fragment with Abduction of Kore-Persephone (about 480-460 BC)
Locri Epizephirii
Terracotta, mold-made, hand-finished, painted
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, inv. 54407
[Cat. no. 37]


Two fragments of pinakes on view here show the abduction of Kore: one by the bearded god Hades [cat. no. 36] and the other by a beardless youth [cat. no. 37]. The identity of the youth remains uncertain. The smaller fragment retains some of its original bright paint.

The third pinax depicts a ritual procession with three female figures, the tallest a priestess holding a rod and a deep cup, and a young woman and a girl, each carrying ceremonial objects-respectively, a folded cloth and a pinecone-shaped incense burner (censer).

Pinax with Procession (about 480-460 BC)
Locri Epizephirii
Terracotta, mold-made, hand-finished, painted
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, inv. 57482
[Cat. no. 38]



Pinax with Woman Packing a Chest (about 470-460 BC )
Locri Epizephirii
Terracotta, mold-made, hand-finished, painted
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, inv. 28266
[Cat. no. 39]
This complete pinax illustrates a woman placing a folded cloth into a richly decorated lidded chest. This apparently domestic scene may refer to wedding preparations and the dowry arrangements.


Page 7 of 11 | On the next page: Altar with Herakles and Acheloos (about 470-450 BC)