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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.54
People
The Haimon Group, Greek
Title
Alabastron (oil flask): Working Wool, Dionysos with Satyr and Maenad (upper); Gigantomachy (lower)
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
c. 480 BCE
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/292923

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Black-figure
Dimensions
14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.54
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
White-ground alabastron decorated in the black-figure technique. Two figure zones, both on a white slip, and two ornamental bands on red. The bottom of the

The upper figural zone depicts a scene of woolworking: The woman on the left sits on a short stool and faces a basket. She holds a distaff. Flanking the basket is a second seated woman spinning thread. To the right of the standing female is a bearded Dionysos facing right towards a short stool. He wears a long himation and wreath and holds a kantharos in his left hand and Opposite the god is a maenad, who flees to the right and holds a thyrsos. Behind the maenad, a dancing satyr lunges forward and grasps a thyrsus in his left hand. A series of twisted branches occupy the background on both sides. In the lower figural frieze is a gigantomachy--the mythological battle between the gods and giants. Herakles and the goddess Athena battle five giants, represented with hoplite shields and helmets.

A broad band of checkerboard tops the upper figural frieze, and a band of repeating palmettes divides the two figural zones.

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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