bell krater
- Museum number
- 1873,0820.346
- Description
-
Pottery: red-figured bell-krater.
(a) Dionysos, two Maenads and Satyr. Dionysos, beardless, with short hair, fillet and wreath, mantle around legs, is seated to right, looking down and resting right on the back of his chair, and holding a thyrsos upright in his hand;
over him is inscribed his name, ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ, Αιόνυσος. On each side of him is a Maenad: on the right Bacche with short wavy hair, holding cantharos up in right, oinochoe at side in left; over her, BA++H, Bάκχη; on the left Urania with long hair hanging loose, holding out on left a tympanon which she strikes with her right; over her, OPANIA, Ουρανία. Both wear long tied chiton, with apoptygma, earrings, necklace of beads, and a radiated fillet. On the right a Satyr advances, playing on the flutes; he wears a wreath and a fillet; over him, ΚΑΛΟΣ, καλός.
(b) Three draped ephebi, one to left conversing with two to right; each wears fillet. In the field on left an aryballos with straps hanging from a peg; on right a strigil hanging.
Late stage of large style. Brownish-white for fillets and inscriptions. Shading on drapery, tympanon, chair-back and cantharos in brown. Below, pairs of maeander separated by dotted cross squares; round the lip, laurel wreath; round the handles, egg pattern.
- Production date
- 420BC-410BC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 35.56 centimetres
-
Height: 34.29 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- BM Cat. Vases
Smith, Dict. Antiq.3, p. 839.
For the name Urania similarly written see Naples Cat. no. 3235 (ΟΡΑΝΙΗΣ); also a vase in the Louvre (Bull. de Corr. Hell, xix, p. 102, fig. 6). For the orthography of Bacche, cf. Heydemann, Satyr- u. Bakchenn. p. 24 ; Kretschmer, Vaseninschr. p. 174.
- Location
- On display (G20a/dc26)
- Acquisition date
- 1873
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1873,0820.346
