Alabastron (oil flask): Working Wool, Dionysos with Satyr and Maenad (upper); Gigantomachy (lower)

Artists

Description

White-ground alabastron decorated in the black-figure technique. Two figure zones, both on a white slip, and two ornamental bands on red. The bottom of the The upper figural zone depicts a scene of woolworking: The woman on the left sits on a short stool and faces a basket. She holds a distaff. Flanking the basket is a second seated woman spinning thread. To the right of the standing female is a bearded Dionysos facing right towards a short stool. He wears a long himation and wreath and holds a kantharos in his left hand and Opposite the god is a maenad, who flees to the right and holds a thyrsos. Behind the maenad, a dancing satyr lunges forward and grasps a thyrsus in his left hand. A series of twisted branches occupy the background on both sides. In the lower figural frieze is a gigantomachy--the mythological battle between the gods and giants. Herakles and the goddess Athena battle five giants, represented with hoplite shields and helmets. A broad band of checkerboard tops the upper figural frieze, and a band of repeating palmettes divides the two figural zones.

Dimensions

14.9 cm (5 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1920. Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).