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Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)

Attributed to the Niobid Painter
ca. 460–450 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 157
Triptolemos between Demeter and Persephone

The Niobid Painter ranks with the Villa Giulia Painter as one of the preeminent artists of the second quarter of the fifth century B.C. The Niobid Painter is remembered particularly for mythological representations on large pots. Here, on a smaller scale, he depicts Triptolemos being dispatched by the goddess Demeter, the patroness of fertility and agriculture, and her daughter, Persephone, to teach the cultivation of grain to humanity. The great attraction of this legend—to the artist and the viewer—lies in the winged car that transports Triptolemos. The model here comes "loaded" with snakes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Niobid Painter
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 460–450 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 10 15/16 in. (27.7 cm); diameter 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm); width with handles 10 15/16 in. (27.8 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.162.98
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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