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Ελληνικά04 · Mont Lassois · a woman at the centre of the network
The lady and the giant krater
The Vix tomb and the 1,100-litre vessel
The largest known bronze krater travelled from Greek workshops to the tomb of a woman in inland Europe.
Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
AI-recreated portrait of the Lady of Vix. The clothing is based on the historical context of the label; the face, the age depicted, the colouring and the details not preserved are interpretive. It is not an authentic photograph nor a scientific facial reconstruction.
Tracekeepers
History and context
A high-ranking woman was buried near Mont Lassois with jewellery, a chariot and a bronze krater 1.64 metres high, weighing about 208 kilos and with a capacity close to 1,100 litres. The vessel turned collective drinking into a monumental statement.
Her assemblage contradicts the idea that Iron Age power must always be imagined as male. We do not know if she was queen, priestess or head of lineage; we do know she held a position capable of mobilising craftsmanship and routes over enormous distances.
The body, shoulders and neck of the krater were hammered from a single sheet just 1.2 millimetres thick. Handles, foot and detachable lid facilitated a journey whose route from production around 530 to burial around 470–460 BCE remains unknown.
The assemblage expands the network: Baltic amber, Mediterranean coral, Etruscan vessels and Greek pottery. The woman rested on a dismantled ceremonial chariot; in 1980 the study of the skeleton confirmed her sex after decades of debate skewed by expectations about power.
Evidence and interpretation
Documented fact: The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais documents an adult woman, the chariot and the exceptional dimensions of the krater, dated to around 500 BCE. Documented expansion: Krater 1.64 m, 208.6 kg and about 1,100 l; female tomb discovered in 1953 and dated c. 470–460 BCE. Expanded interpretation and caution: The museum proposes production in Sybaris, but the itinerary and chain of ownership are unknown; 'princess' is not a demonstrated office.
AI-recreated portrait of the Lady of Vix. The clothing is based on the historical context of the label; the face, the age depicted, the colouring and the details not preserved are interpretive. It is not an authentic photograph nor a scientific facial reconstruction.
Catalogue facts
- Narrative date
- c. 500 BCE
- Location
- Vix, near Mont Lassois, Burgundy
- Material
- Bronze, iron, gold, stone and wood
- Context
- Elite tomb linked to a fortified centre
- Curatorial reading
- The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
- Wall
- 1.2 mm thick
- Manufacture and burial
- c. 530 and c. 470–460 BCE
- Mont Lassois
- Fortified centre of about 45 ha according to the museum
- Documentary coverage
- 3 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.
- Intercultural biography
- Greek Mediterranean workshop: production · Vix · Hallstatt world: deposit
A closer look
About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .
The figurines that were no longer present when it was buried
The perforated lid acted as a strainer for wine. Around its perimeter, raking light has revealed bases and fixing holes for small figures now missing. The museum proposes that a second parade of characters decorated the lid, above the neck frieze. Those figures appear to have been carefully removed before burial and none appeared in the tomb. The young woman positioned in the centre remained as the sole remnant of that programme. The vessel, therefore, had undergone a transformation of its decoration before becoming grave goods.
Reference images and provenance
No verifiable entrance photograph is preserved for this representation. You may consult its documentation, but we would not present its face as an exact reconstruction.
Additional visual documentation
A cited publication does not establish which image was used to create the character.
Location and territory
LOCATED SITE
Vix/Mont Lassois · FranceMarker of the funerary assemblage.Where it is held
Musée du Pays Châtillonnais · Vix Treasure
Component of the group · On display
Preserves and presents the grave goods from the Vix tomb.
The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.
Cultural connections
Greek Mediterranean workshop →
Technique and style are Greek; the specific workshop remains debated.
Probable
Sources and references
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