Red-figured wine-cooler (psykter), signed by Douris as
painter
Greek, about 500-490 BC
Made in Athens, Greece; found at Cerveteri, Lazio, Italy
A troupe of satyrs
This mushroom-shaped vessel would have been filled with wine and
set to float in a large krater filled with ice-cold water.
When the wine was cool enough it would have been removed and mixed
with water before being drunk.
Satyrs were the followers of the wine-god Dionysos, and thus an
appropriate subject for a wine-cooler. The ones shown here are
performing various acrobatic feats involving wine cups. One wears
the costume and carries the wand of the messenger god Hermes, and
it has been suggested that the troupe may evoke the chorus of a
satyr play, with Hermes as the leader.
Like his contemporary the Brygos Painter, Douris was a prolific
cup painter of the early decades of the fifth century BC.
Characteristic of his personal style are the curved ‘W' lines
marking the satyrs' hips, and the small arc at the junction of the
lines marking the lower boundary of the pectoral muscles.
M. Robertson, The art of vase-painting in Cl (Cambridge, 1992)
J. Boardman, Athenian red figure vases: the (London, Thames and Hudson, 1975)
D. Williams, Greek vases (London, The British Museum Press, 1999)