Museo Civico Archeologico - Attic red-figure krater with bathing scene

In ancient Greece and Etruria, personal care was a vital social element. This vase, crafted in Greece but acquired by Etruscans and discovered in a Bolognese tomb, depicts three women around a large basin. The central figure is adorned with the inscription "KALE" (beautiful) in Greek alphabet.Two girls are naked and holding beauty objects, the ointment jar and mirror, the third a pair of boots. The women are engaged in toilet operations, possibly related to the purifying bath that the young women had to perform before marriage.