A group stands and lounges in an open field.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The vessel is black with a tall neck, wide spout and two handles on the body of the vessel. In red, figures sit and stand around on different levels in space. Some are nude with tails, and others wear draping robes. Above, a figure with wings is painted in white and flies above the others. There is also a dog seated lower which is also painted in white. There are a few scattered plants throughout the scene. There are geometric motifs along the upper rim of the vessel and bordering the scene.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.347
People
Class of Brussels A 3099, Greek (425 BCE-375 BCE)
Title
Hydria (water jar): Dionysos and Entourage
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
c. 400 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Nola (Campania)
Period
Classical period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/290821

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Red-figure
Dimensions
35.6 x 24.7 cm (14 x 9 3/4 in.)
with handles: 35.6 x 27 cm (14 x 10 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Hamburger Collection Frankfurt. [Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin, Katalog, 2035,"Werke Antiker Kunst, Sammlungen A. Loebbecke-Braunschweig und Dr. Witte-Rostock," p. 13, pl. 2, no. 456, by 1930]. David M. Robinson, Oxford, Mississippi, (by 1937-1959) bequest; to the Fogg Museum, 1960.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Beazley Archive Database #217539

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.347
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Dionysos sits in the center of the scene holding a thyrsos and looking to the right. On his right, a woman wearing a chiton stands and pets the god's panther. Above her in the upper right is a seated youth, likely the god Hermes who holds a caduceus and at the far right, a woman sits facing right and looking to the left. To the left of Dionysos is a bearded-satyr, also holding a thyrsos. At the far left is a woman wearing a long chiton and himation.

On the back of the vessel is a winding vine of palmettes, lotus buds, and tendrils. Under each lateral handle, a palmette. The lip is decorated with an egg-and-dart. At the bottom of the scene, a band of alternating meander and checkerboard square.
Added white highlighting details including the panther, an Eros, and diadems. Yellow also highlights the panthers.

Publication History

  • Werke Antiker Kunst Sammlung A. Loebbecke-Braunschweig Sammlung Dr. Witte-Rostock, auct. cat. (Berlin, November 12, 1930), no. 456, pl. 2.
  • David M. Robinson, Some Unpublished Attic Vases, American Journal of Archaeology (1934), 38, p. 188
  • David Moore Robinson, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum U.S.A.: volume 3, The Robinson Collection, Baltimore, MD, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1938)
  • Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 18, no. 107
  • J. D. Beazley, Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters, The Clarendon Press (Oxford, England, 1963), 1341.2
  • Diana M. Buitron, Attic Vase Painting in New England Collections, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1972), p.146-147, no. 80
  • Caroline Houser, Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient Through Modern, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1979), no. 15.
  • Thomas Carpenter, Thomas Mannack, and Melanie Mendonca, ed., Beazley addenda : additional references to ABV, ARV² & Paralipomena, Oxford University Press (UK) (Oxford, 1989), p. 367
  • John Varriano, Wine: A Cultural History, Reaktion Books (London, 2010), pp.30-34, repr. p. 33 as fig. 13

Exhibition History

  • The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961
  • Attic Vase Painting in New England Collections, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/01/1972 - 04/05/1972
  • Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient through Modern, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/10/1979 - 02/10/1980
  • [Teaching Exhibition], Smith College Museum of Art, 09/01/1994 - 10/01/1994
  • Fragments of Antiquity: Drawing Upon Greek Vases, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/15/1997 - 12/28/1997
  • The Pervasive, yet Elusive, Dionysos, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 04/12/2001 - 06/17/2001
  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 10/03/2023

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu