Larnax

A Minoan-Mycenaean clay or terra-cotta coffin. This kind of coffin, resembling a rectangular wooden chest, enjoyed a brief popularity in the eastern Greek region c 530-460 BC. The sarcophagus was often crudely painted on the sides with funerary or religious scenes. 'Clazomenian' examples were painted in imitation of contemporary vase styles. The term was also used for a closed box, seen in a royal tomb at Vergina, and in art. A third use of the term was for a bathtub made of a fabric containing straw.

[Greek larnax: ‘box, cinerary urn, coffin’]. A terracotta sarcophagus. This kind of coffin enjoyed a brief popularity in the east Greek area <530-460 bc with the ‘Clazom-enian’ examples, which were painted in imitation of contemporary vase styles. Other examples in antiquity are relatively rare.