Final answer:
Cinerary urns, often made of clay or impasto, held the cremated remains of the deceased in historical periods and were used by various cultures including the Etruscans and Romans. These urns were symbolic and served as inspiration in poetry, representing a container for artistic meaning.
Step-by-step explanation:
The small urn that can hold a portion of cremated remains is typically made of materials like clay and is known as a cinerary urn. These urns were commonly used in historical periods such as Iron Age Etruria (900-750 BCE), where an urn shaped like a miniaturized hut could represent what a typical Etruscan house looked like. During later periods, smaller cinerary urns took on the shapes of sarcophagi, decorated with images of the deceased in Roman attire and scenes of their lives or mythology.
In Roman culture, which influenced Etruscan funerary practices, cremation was commonly practiced, and the ashes were stored in cinerary urns. Poets like John Donne and Thomas Gray have used the urn metaphorically in their poetry to represent a container for artistic meaning, similar to how an urn contains the ashes of the deceased. In essence, cinerary urns were not only practical but also held symbolic significance in society and the arts.