Vase Catalog Number: Harvard 1960.347

Decoration:

The beardless Dionysos sits in the center, his legs to the left and his head turned to the right. He sits upon his cloak, one end of which lies over his right knee; he is otherwise nude except for a white fillet and a wreath of ivy. He cradles a thyrsos in his left arm, the lower end of which passes behind a small leopard or panther. The latter is painted with added white, tinted yellow with dilute glaze to represent the furry pelt. A woman in a belted peplos pets the panther; she may be Ariadne, as she has no maenadic attributes. Behind her at the right, is a second woman, separated from her by a stylized plant; a similar plant -- lotus bud, tendrils, acanthus -- grows behind the satyr at left. The woman is seated on her himation, her legs to the right and her head turned to the left. She wears a chiton and white stephane; her hair is tied in a chignon. To the left of Dionysos, and gesturing toward him with his left hand, is a bearded satyr, who holds a thyrsos in his other hand. He too wears a white fillet and an ivy wreath; a branch of ivy floats in the field between him and the god. Seated above, at left and right, in what is apparently the celestial or divine sphere, are Aphrodite and Hermes. Aphrodite, at left, wears a himation, white stephane, and a close-fitting chiton secured with a belt; her hair is tied in a chignon. Her son Eros, drawn with added white, flies toward her with a white wreath or necklace. The beardless Hermes, seated at right and facing right, sits on his cloak, one end of which falls over his leg; he is otherwise nude, except for a white fillet. He holds his herald's wand (kerykeion) in his left hand. Standing before him is another figure of Eros (not painted white) wearing a white fillet.

Band of egg & dart pattern around lower neck; egg-pattern around the rim and around the roots of all three handles; top of mouth reserved; reserved fillet between foot and body; single, upright palmette and tendrils beneath both side handles. On the back, above the maeander band, is an unusually elaborate complex of palmettes, tendrils, buds, and acanthus. Circling the lower body, and providing a groundline for some of the figures, is a band consisting of groups of three maeanders to left alternating with checkerboards.

Parallels:

Beazley recognized that this vase is connected in shape and style with another hydria, Brussels A 3099 (ARV2, 1341, 1), which also features Dionysos seated amid satyrs and maenads. He thought the floral designs might be by the same hand, but not the figure-work, though it has the same general character. Beazley suggested that the youth with the kerykeion might be Oinopion, the human charged by Dionysos with introducing wine to humanity; his task makes him a sort of herald, so that the kerykeion is not inappropriate. After centuries of the kerykeion being the principal attribute of Hermes, however, it is hard to disassociate him from this figure without a more telling reason; see Buitron 1972, 147..

Collection History:

ex Hamburger coll., Frankfurt; Loebbecke coll., Braunschweig; Bequest of David M. Robinson.

Condition:

Broken and repaired, with some missing pieces restored and re-painted. Some areas misfired red, particularly the mouth and neck. Weathering of the added white, especially the panther.

Shape Description:

Kalpis hydria: deep shoulder; foot in three degrees (grooved disk with two rounded risers); concave neck; ovolo rim with groove at top; horizontal handles deeply incurved.

Sources Used:

CVA, Robinson 3; Buitron 1972.

Other Bibliography:

Robinson exhibition catalogue 1961, no. 107; CVA, Robinson 3, 22, pl. 13; Buitron 1972, 146-147, no. 80.

Essay: Buitron No. 80

(Michael Padgett)