I CORREDI DELLE TOMBE DI CASAGIOVE CONSERVATI AL MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE DELL’ANTICA CAPUA

Abstract

At the end of the ’90s, in Casagiove, in two neighbouring properties, eight tufa case tombs were discovered, datable to the
second half of the late 4th century BC. Through their rich grave goods, consisting of unpainted, black-painted and red-figure vases,
it has been possible to intercept the “signs” and “images” of a strong social-cultural transformation moment that affected Capua
and northern Campania during the century.
The presence of locally produced figurative ceramics is particularly significant; it not only highlights the intense and continuous
stylistic interaction between different ateliers on a regional and extra regional scale, but it attests the local élites’ continued
appreciation for Greek pottery production too. It was a precious source of inspiration for funerary purposes vases, with depictions
related to the spiritual sphere of the departed and to the offering ceremonies at funerary monuments.
The images on the vases, sometimes very articulate and rich in characters, describe goddess-like women, recalling the beauty
and elegance that characterised them in life; also central is the triumphant figure of the warrior, portrayed mostly in departure, as
a metaphor of “distance from life”.
The vases recovered testify to an undisputed preference for cumaean figurative ceramics, the production of which blossomed
slightly later than that of Capua, towards the middle of the 4th century BC, with a peak in the third quarter of the century, in the
workshop of the school leader, the CA Painter. Some extraordinary works painted by the LNO Painter, by the Painter of New York
GR 1000 and, in the second cumaean phase, by the APZ Painter, refer to his workshop. The “First Production of Capua” is also
documented with some products from the workshops of the Laghetto, Caivano and Errera Painters, where the Painter of BM F63
and the Painter of Capua 7531 were active.

Keywords: Casagiove, Capua, IV century BC, ceramics.