Lady of Baza. An exceptional funeral urn

Protohistory: Iberian peoplesSalto de línea

The famous piece called the Lady of Baza was found in 1971 during excavations in an underground chamber of the necropolis at Baza (Granada). Its discovery was a landmark in the knowledge of the ancient culture of the Iberian people. It is an anthropomorphic cinerary urn, skilfully carved out of limestone by an Iberian sculptor in the first half of the 4th century BC.. It represents an important woman in Iberian society. The individualised facial features seem to portray a specific person, richly garbed in a tunic and cloak and bedecked with ostentatious jewellery that denotes an eastern influence. Among the jewelry, it highlights the large cubic earrings and necklaces with tabs and amphorical pendants. She is seated on a winged throne with two claw-shaped front legs and has a cavity under the seat where the cremated remains of the dead woman were found.. This same tomb also yielded grave goods consisting of luxury pottery pieces and four sets of weapons and armour, possible souvenirs of the mock battles that may have been staged as part of her funeral rites in a manner befitting a heroic warrior. The use of certain divine symbols, like the winged attachments to the back of the throne and the bird held in her hand, underscore the connection between the sphere of the gods and this powerful woman, revered by her clan as the great ancestress and founder of their aristocratic bloodline. The typology and decoration of the pottery pieces of the trousseau, are reminiscent of the orientalizing world.