Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

Unknown

ca. 520–510 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Obverse and reverse, between eyes, mask of Dionysos and of a satyr During the last quarter of the sixth century B.C., the decoration of many drinking vessels consisted of themes relating to Dionysos, the god of wine. Here the main subject is a mask of Dionysos; a frequent alternative is the mask of a satyr. The popularity of the wine god in Archaic Attic art reflects initiatives of the ruling family, the Peisistratids, that concerned cults, festivals, and public performances involving Dionysos.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 520–510 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906