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Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water)

Attributed to the Metope Painter
3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 160
On the body, obverse, woman with attendant in naiskos (shrine) flanked by youths and women
Reverse, woman in naiskos flanked by youths and women
On the shoulder, obverse, head of a woman wearing a Phrygian cap within foliage
Reverse, head of a woman within foliage

This loutrophoros is a slightly simpler counterpart of the adjacent example. The naiskos has only two columns, and the lower part of the podium is covered with vine
tendrils. The woman opens a casket, while her maid holds a garland of flowers. Although the function of such vases is not fully understood, it was most probably
funerary. From its origins in Athens, the loutrophoros was associated with weddings and with rites for those who died unmarried. The iconographical formula of figures
in a naiskos was established in sculpture on the Greek mainland, whence it reached Southern Italy.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Metope Painter
  • Period: Late Classical
  • Date: 3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE
  • Culture: Greek, South Italian, Apulian
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: 32 3/4 in. (83.2 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Bernard and Audrey Aronson Charitable Trust Gift, in memory of her beloved husband, Bernard Aronson, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.45.2
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

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Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water), Metope Painter, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water)
Metope Painter
3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE
Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water)
Greek, Attic
late 6th century BCE
Terracotta askos in the form of a boar, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Campanian
Terracotta askos in the form of a boar
Greek, South Italian, Campanian
4th century BCE
Terracotta oinochoe (jug), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta oinochoe (jug)
Greek, Attic
late 10th–early 9th century BCE
Terracotta oinochoe (jug), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta oinochoe (jug)
Greek, Attic
mid-4th century BCE

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