KM 79.4.6
Etruscan black glaze phiale
Later 4th century BC
Italy
A dish used in the performance of sacrificial rituals in ancient Greece, Etruria and Rome, the phiale was intended to hold the blood of a slain victim. Blood sacrifices were thought to link the divine and the human worlds, and were celebrated on countless occasions. Sacrificial victims were usually domestic animals such as goats, sheep, pig and oxen. Their flesh would be shared and consumed by the worshippers present at the sacrifice.