The krater stood as the most prominent object in the one-room underground structure the excavators call Tomb B, which can be dated by pottery fragments found in it to the last quarter of the fourth-century BC. Their book in modern Greek is available only in specialized research libraries, so few of her readers would have easy access to it.Īrchaeological information crucial for understanding the Derveni Krater’s context establishes, for example, that the final use in antiquity of the vessel designed to mix wine was as a container for the cremated remains of a man between thirty-five and sixty years old and a younger woman of undetermined age. Barr-Sharrar was well-advised to include illustrations and other information from their study, and they were generous in giving her permission to do so. This information comes primarily from a publication by two highly respected Greek archaeologists, Petros Themelis and Ioannis Touratsoglou ( Οι τάφοι του Δερβενίου, Athens, 1997). She knows the Derveni Krater inside and out and has spoken and written about various elements of it for three decades she is well qualified to undertake a publication of this masterpiece of ancient Greek art.Īfter introducing her subject with a review of the history of metal vessels discovered in Macedonia, Barr-Sharrar turns her attention in chapter 2 to the finds from the tombs excavated in 1962 at Derveni, an area about seven miles north of Thessaloniki. Filled with super illustrations, it includes information that has come to light since 1978 from numerous sources, including her own papers and publications. Barr-Sharrar’s volume is, however, the first in-depth study of the Derveni Krater that is easily available to readers outside of Greece.

It was the subject of a dissertation that appeared in 1978 by Eugenia Giouri for the University of Thessaloniki, and Barr-Sharrar gives credit to Giouri’s pioneering work. This is not the first scholarly monograph about the krater. The Derveni Krater by Beryl Barr-Sharrar brings together many diverse elements related to this spectacular metal vessel. Performance Art/Performance Studies/Public Practice.Museum Practice/Museum Studies/Curatorial Studies/Arts Administration.Drawings/Prints/Work on Paper/Artistc Practice.Digital Media/New Media/Web-Based Media.

Architectural History/Urbanism/Historic Preservation.

Subject, Genre, Media, Artistic Practice.

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