Inscribed on top of the mouth "one of the prizes from Argive Hera"
This hydria, like Greek art in all its forms, is marked by clearly defined parts organized into a harmonious well-proportioned whole. The plain body swells gently to the shoulder zone, which turns inward with a soft, cushionlike curve. The shoulder is decorated with a simple shallow tongue pattern that echoes the vertical ribbing on the foot. The neck shoots up from the shoulder to a flaring mouth from which the bust of a woman seems to emerge. The figure belongs to the vertical handle of the hydria. She wears a peplos. Her serene face is framed by carefully detailed hair. Rotelles with a rosette pattern give a semblance of outstretched hands. We know from the inscription on the mouth that this hydria was a prize awarded at games for the goddess Hera at her sanctuary in Argos in the Peloponnisos.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Bronze hydria (water jar)
Period:Classical
Date:mid-5th century BCE
Culture:Greek, Argive
Medium:Bronze
Dimensions:H. with handle 20 1/4 in. (51.41 cm)
Classification:Bronzes
Credit Line:Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1926
Object Number:26.50
Inscription: On the rim, in Argive dialect and script, stating that this hydria was "one of the prizes from Argive Hera"
Said to have been found in the Peloponnese (Mertens 1985, p. 40).
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1926. "The Classical Collection: Rearrangement and Important Accessions." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 21(4), part 2: pp. 8–9, fig. 3.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1927. Handbook of the Classical Collection. pp. 135, 137, fig. 94, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1927. "Recent Accessions in the Classical Department: Vases and Bronzes." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 22(1): p. 20.
Lamb, Winifred. 1929. Greek and Roman Bronzes. p. 163, pl. LIX, a, London.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1930. Handbook of the Classical Collection. pp. 135, 137, fig. 94, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1936[1934]. A Guide to the Collections, Part 1: Ancient and Oriental Art, 2nd edn. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1953. Handbook of the Greek Collection. pp. 82, 224, pls. 64a, h, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Jeffery, L.H. 1961. The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece: A Study of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet and Its Development from the Eight to the Fifth Centuries B.C.. no. 26, p. 169, pl. 29, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Jeffery, L.H. 1990. The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece: A Study of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet and Its Development from the Eight to the Fifth Centuries B.C., Revised edition. no. 26, p. 169, pl. 29, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Zwierlein-Diehl, Erika. 1964. Die Hydria: Formgeschichte und Verwendung im Kult des Altertums. no. B78
, Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
Amandry, Pierre. 1971. "Collection Paul Canellopoulos (I): Armes et lébès de bronze." Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, 95(2): p. 615.
Mertens, Joan R. 1985. "Greek Bronzes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 43(2): no. 23, pp. 4–5, 13, 39.
Bodel, John P. and Stephen Tracy. 1997. Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the USA : A Checklist. p. 192, Rome: American Academy in Rome.
Cook, Brian. 1998[1987]. Greek Inscriptions. p. 57, fig. 53, London: Trustees of the British Museum.
Amandry, Pierre. 2002. "Hydries Argiennes." Essays in Honor of Dietrich von Bothmer, Mr. Andrew J. Clark and Dr. Jasper Gaunt, eds. pp. 29–32, pls. 1, 2a, Amsterdam: Allard Pierson Stichting, Amsterdam.
Picón, Carlos A. 2007. Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greece, Cyprus, Etruria, Rome no. 122, pp. 112, 459, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mertens, Joan R. 2010. How to Read Greek Vases. p. 96, fig. 36, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Highlights from The Met collection illustrate the many athletic games held in ancient Greece, featuring celebrity athletes, grand prizes, and the mythical origins of the first Olympics.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
