Terracotta stamnos with cover (jar)
Obverse, King Akrisios watching his daughter Danae and her son Perseus who stand in a chest about to be set adrift
Reverse, Danae's seated mother, a standing servant with basket, and a carpenter holding a hammer
When King Akrisios of Argos was informed by an oracle that his grandson would kill him, he locked away his daughter Danaë. Nevertheless, Zeus came to her as a shower of gold and Perseus was born. The king had Danaë and Perseus put into a wooden chest and set adrift to die at sea. After many adventures, including his beheading of Medusa the Gorgon, Perseus returned to Argos and fulfilled the prophecy. Here in a quiet but tense moment, Danaë and the baby react with horror and pleading before the chest is closed.
Reverse, Danae's seated mother, a standing servant with basket, and a carpenter holding a hammer
When King Akrisios of Argos was informed by an oracle that his grandson would kill him, he locked away his daughter Danaë. Nevertheless, Zeus came to her as a shower of gold and Perseus was born. The king had Danaë and Perseus put into a wooden chest and set adrift to die at sea. After many adventures, including his beheading of Medusa the Gorgon, Perseus returned to Argos and fulfilled the prophecy. Here in a quiet but tense moment, Danaë and the baby react with horror and pleading before the chest is closed.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta stamnos with cover (jar)
- Artist: Attributed to the Deepdene Painter
- Period: Classical
- Date: ca. 470–460 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
- Dimensions: Overall: 15 x 15 3/8in. (38.1 x 39cm); diameter 12 3/8in. (31.4cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.230.37a, b
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Deepdene Painter
ca. 470–460 BCE
Deepdene Painter
ca. 470–460 BCE
Deepdene Painter
ca. 470 BCE
Greek, South Italian, Campanian
4th century BCE
Greek, Attic
late 10th–early 9th century BCE
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