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

ca. 520–510 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155
Obverse and reverse, between eyes, mask of Dionysos and of a satyr

During the last quarter of the sixth century B.C., the decoration of many drinking vessels consisted of themes relating to Dionysos, the god of wine. Here the main subject is a mask of Dionysos; a frequent alternative is the mask of a satyr. The popularity of the wine god in Archaic Attic art reflects initiatives of the ruling family, the Peisistratids, that concerned cults, festivals, and public performances involving Dionysos.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
  • Period: Archaic
  • Date: ca. 520–510 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
    diameter 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1906
  • Object Number: 06.1021.101
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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