CIRCA 6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.

According to R.D. De Puma (p. 52 in Etruscan Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art), elaborate banquets with food and wine were an important part of Etruscan life, as observed on the famous painted frescos found at Tarquinia, Chiusi and Orvieto. In addition to other vessels used in banquets, like amphorae and kraters, large cauldrons, such as the present example, were used to cook food, mix wine and water and were also given as prizes. This well-preserved example, formed of hammered sheet, features a lid with four evenly-dispersed spool-shaped handle plates, each with a swiveling tapered ring handle with two small beaded cylinders between. For a similar example found at Monteleone di Spoleto, see no. 4.2 in De Puma, op. cit; for a large spherical example preserving its tripod base, see no. 4.39.