The scene on the vase shows two people walking and a child riding a horse. One adult holds the reins of the horse, and the other adult and the child hold some grain stacks. They are probably arriving at a temple or sacrificial ground,  indicated by the fire on the altar in front of them.

 The carafe shape was used to hold wine for pouring in drinking cups. The especially long neck was very practical for this purpose, easily avoiding spills.

Although the black figure style of vase painting originated in Corinth, it was the rise to power of the city-state of Athens and its subsequent export of pottery throughout the Mediterranean that brought the Athenian black figure vase painting style to the forefront in the 5th Century.

The vases were first completed in the well-known yellow-orange color by mixing red ochre with the clay.  The figures and scene were then painted on the vase in black in a silhouette format.  The artist could then engrave or incise lines of clothing, faces, and other details on the black figures, allowing the ochre color to show through.  Often times another color such as white, red, or sometimes purple, was added to a few objects on the vase to bring more dimension to the scene.