Terracotta cup with appliqués

Unknown

ca. 150–100 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Applied decoration: the infant Herakles strangling the snakes, amphora with a lid, Eros holding a torch Pergamene appliqué pottery, with its lustrous glaze and large repertoire of applied mold-made reliefs, is one of the finest ceramic creations of the Hellenistic period. Even as a baby, Herakles possessed great strength. The snakes he is strangling in this image were sent by the goddess Hera to kill him when she found out that his father, Zeus, had been unfaithful to her with the mortal Alkmene of Thebes.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 150–100 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Pergamene

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917