Detail of a Terracotta Pelike Attributed to the Somzee Painter in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2011

Terracotta pelike (jar)

Attributed to the Somzée Painter

Period: Classical

Date: ca. 420–410 B.C.

Culture: Greek, Attic

Medium: Terracotta

Dimensions: H.: 14 1/2 x 11 1/16 in. (36.8 x 28.1 cm)

Classification: Vases

Credit Line: Gift of Samuel G. Ward, 1875

Accession Number: 75.2.7


Description:

The scene presents an early form of the outdoor gathering—with or without repast—so favored in later Western art. Dionysos, the god of wine, reclines on a couch in a hilly setting with a spreading vine. A young man and an old satyr attend to the wine—worthy of notice is their calyx-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water) decorated with a satyr and maenad, followers of Dionysos. In front of the god is a surface with bread and fruit. The woman at right brings grapes in a flat basket. Although the drawing is facile, the figures are substantial and individually characterized.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/1300...