Terracotta emblem bowl with head of Zeus or Sarapis

Unknown

3rd–1st century BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

The interior medallion in high relief and flaring profile of this terracotta bowl are derived from metallic prototypes and were meant to replicate such luxury items. Clay vessels with these features were made beginning in the Hellenistic period in a variety of regions, such as Southern Italy, Asia Minor, and mainland Greece. It is therefore difficult to identify securely the place of manufacture for this bowl. The relief emblem portraying either Zeus or perhaps, due to the distinctive pattern of the hair and beard, the hellenized-Egyptian god Sarapis, is an unusual subject for the medallions of these bowls, which tend to favor Dionysiac themes and other divinities.

Artist

Unknown

Date

3rd–1st century BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917