In the Capuan graves of the late archaic period (end of the sixth to first half of the fifth century BC) large bronze cauldrons set into tuff containers were used as urns. They were ornamentally engraved and decorated with figurative fixtures: On the cauldron rim with horses, equestrians, Oriental archers, runners and sirens and on the lid with a discus thrower, men carrying rams, adorants, animals or mythical creatures. These cauldrons and also the other products from the Campanian bronze workshops are likewise clearly influenced by Greek models as regards their artistic design. Delicate terracotta applications, which presumably decorated wooden sarcophagi, belong to roughly the same time. They were colourfully painted and had the shape of ornaments (palmettes), masks (heads of Achelous, Sileni, warriors and women as well as Gorgoneia) or they depicted quadrigas.
Details