VesselsGreek6th century BCE

Hydria (water jar): Herakles as Musician

c. 510 BCE

Description

On the shoulder: three pairs of warriors in combat. Each of the figures wears armor and a helmet, and carries a shield and a spear. Added red and white are used for some details, like the greaves, helmet crests, shield bands and insignia, and clothing, although some of this added color has been lost. On the body: Heracles stands left of center, and faces towards the right, holding a kithara (lyre). He holds a plectrum attached to the body of the instrument by string in his right hand. He wears his characteristic lion skin, decorated with flecks to indicate its fur, over a short tunic (chiton), and he also carries a bow and quiver and a sword in a scabbard. Added red is used for the lion’s mane and Heracles’ tunic; added white is used for arrow-heads at the top of the scabbard, the lion’s teeth, the sword handle and parts of the kithara. In front of Heracles and facing him stands the goddess Athena. She is identifiable by her helmet and snake-covered aegis which she wears over a long dress (peplos). Her helmet extends beyond the frame into the scene on the shoulder. She carries a long spear. Her skin is painted in white, indicating that she is a woman; added red is used to decorate her aegis and skirt. Behind her stands the bearded god Hermes, who is identifiable by his traveller’s cap (petasos) and cloak (chlamys), winged shoes, and staff (caduceus). Added red is used to decorate the brim of his hat, his cloak and shoes as well as his beard. Behind Heracles is another woman, who may be Hebe, the goddess of youth, and Heracles’ third and final wife. She wears a cloak (himation) over a long dress (peplos) and holds two long leafy branches. Her skin is painted in added white to indicate her gender, and added red decorates her clothing. The figural scene on the body is surrounded on the bottom by a band of lotus decoration, and on the sides by two double ivy leaf patterns. A single line marks the distinction between the body and the shoulder, and a band of egg and dart runs along the top of the shoulder scene at the juncture with the neck of the vase. Above the foot there is a band of rays.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Black-figure

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek

Period

Archaic period

Century

6th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

with handles: 41 x Diam. 32 cm (16 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Found at Vulci. Campanari Collection (1833). Durand Collection (1833-1836) sold; to Claude Camille Rollin, Paris, (1836). Purchase (1993) Jerome Eisenberg, Royal Athena Galleries, New York, [Nanterre Sale], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1994.