Attributed to the Darius Painter (Greek, active ca. 340–330 b.c.)
Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Terracotta
H. 36 5/8 in. (93 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1911 (11.210.3a,b)
On the body, above, obverse: male deity adjudicating between Persephone and Aphrodite regarding Adonis
On the body, reverse: seated youth and woman with three women
Below, all around: youth at a stele (grave marker) between youths and women
On the shoulder, obverse and reverse: head of a woman
On the lid: head of a woman
The Tarentine predilection for disciplined yet exuberant embellishment is manifested here in an imposing vase with deeply serious iconography. In the primary scene, Persephone and Aphrodite, who both laid claim to the beautiful hunter Adonis, await a judgment from the deity seated between them. He may be interpreted as Zeus or Hades, ruler of the Underworld. Differing versions of the verdict allowed the hero to divide his time between the goddesses. In the zone below, a youth is isolated between a grave monument and a laver as figures approach from either side. The themes of the death and rebirth of Adonis are connected with seasonal change, and the abundant vegetation on this loutrophoros could symbolize rebirth, an appropriate theme for a funeral vase.
Related
Index Terms
Art Movement/Style
Artist
- Darius Painter (Greek, active ca. 340–330 b.c.)
Object
- Deep Vessel from Europe
- Figural Vessel
- Figural Vessel from Europe
- Tall Vessel (Vase, Pitcher, or Bottle)
- Tall Vessel from Europe
- Vessel from Europe
- Vessel from the Balkan Peninsula
