Terracotta situla (bucket)

Attributed to the Lycurgus Painter 

Period:
Late Classical
Date:
ca. 360–340 B.C.
Culture:
Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Medium:
Terracotta; red-figure
Dimensions:
H. 10 11/16 in. (27.1 cm)
Classification:
Vases
Credit Line:
Fletcher Fund, 1956
Accession Number:
56.171.64
  • Description

    Dionysos among satyrs and maenads. On the bottom, round face

    A situla is a bucket that served to decant wine. The shape is well attested in metal examples and in terracotta counterparts of different types. This piece presents a spirited depiction of the wine-god Dionysos driving his griffin-drawn chariot to a gathering of his followers. Particularly engaging is the old satyr dipping a jug into the decorated calyx-krater, probably to fill the libation bowl in his left hand. On the back, Dionysos is seated between a satyr and a maenad and is surrounded by attributes, including a fawn, a cista (cylindrical box), and wreaths.

  • References

    von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1957. "Greek Vases from the Hearst Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 15(7): pp. 166, 179.

    Oliver, Andrew, Jr. 1962. "The Lycurgus Painter: An Apulian Artist of the Fourth Century." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 21(1): pp. 26-30, figs. 1, 3, 8.

    Bothmer, Dietrich von. 1972. "Greek Vase Painting: An Introduction." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 31(1): p. 6.

    Smith, Henry R.W. 1976. Funerary Symbolism in Apulian Vase-Painting. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 76, 78-9.

    Picón, Carlos A., et al. 2007. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 180, pp. 159, 438.

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