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

Attributed to the Painter of London E 497
ca. 440 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159
Obverse, Orpheus among the Thracians
Reverse, libation scene

Orpheus, the best known of the mythical musicians, is associated with Thrace in the northernmost part of Greece. After he had descended into the underworld to find his beloved wife, Eurydice, and had lost her, he withdrew into solitude. Feeling rebuffed, Thracian women set upon Orpheus and killed him. Here he is shown seated on a rock formation and engrossed in his music. The central figure, wearing typical Thracian dress, identifies the setting, while the woman who holds a sickle in her left hand foreshadows Orpheus's fate.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Painter of London E 497
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 440 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: 11 5/8 × 13 3/4 × 12 13/16 in. (29.5 × 34.9 × 32.5 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.97.30
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Terracotta bell-krater (mixing bowl), Painter of New York GR 1000, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Campanian
Terracotta bell-krater (mixing bowl)
Painter of New York GR 1000
ca. 350–325 BCE
Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), Persephone Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Persephone Painter
ca. 440 BCE
Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), Kekrops Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Kekrops Painter
ca. 410–400 BCE
Pair of terracotta volute-kraters (vases for mixing wine and water) with stands, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Pair of terracotta volute-kraters (vases for mixing wine and water) with stands
Greek, South Italian, Apulian
3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE
Pair of terracotta volute-kraters (vases for mixing wine and water) with stands, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Pair of terracotta volute-kraters (vases for mixing wine and water) with stands
Greek, South Italian, Apulian
3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE

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