MAMA XI 233 (Kinna)

Exactly the same combination of objects is depicted on a funerary stele from Kulu (MAMA XI 224 [1957/3]): at left, an animal-legged tripod table with oinochoe below and one-handled skyphos resting on top; at centre, a wool-basket resting on a chest with lock-plate; at right, spindle and distaff. The first element here, the animal-legged tripod table with one-handled skyphos on top, is also found on a second funerary stele from Kulu (MAMA XI 230 [1957/4]) and a funerary stele from Yaraşlı (MAMA XI 235 [1957/13]), in the latter instance in combination with a selection of farm-implements. The oinochoe and skyphos reappear along with a pelike on a funerary stele from Yaraşlı (MAMA XI 234 [1957/12]). A funerary stele from Canımana (MAMA XI 250 [1957/32]) depicts a wool-basket resting on a chest with lock-plate, a mirror, an oinochoe (?) and skyphos on an animal-legged tripod table, a spindle and distaff, and an ox-team yoked to a plough; another stele from Canımana (MAMA XI 253 [1957/35]) depicts a chest with lock-plate, a mirror, an oinochoe and skyphos on an animal-legged tripod table, a pelike, a spindle and distaff, a bill-hook, a horse, and an ox-team yoked to a plough. Numerous variants on this combination of objects can be found on the funerary monuments from the territory of Kinna collected in RECAM II.

Most of these objects are self-explanatory. The incised depiction of an animal-legged tripod table with associated wine-jars and drinking vessels presumably represents a poor man’s ‘Totenmahl’ relief, a kind of visual shorthand for the good life (luxurious drinking and dining).