Artwork Page for Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

Details / Information for Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

c. 370–360 BCE

attributed to Graz Painter

(South Italian, Apulian, active c. 380–360 BCE)
Culture
South Italian, Apulian
Medium
ceramic
Measurements
Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of J. H. Wade 1924.534
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The dancing nude youths on the reverse are unusual; typically they would be standing and draped.

Description

This small mixing vessel shows a finely dressed woman seated on a chest and holding up a mirror to admire herself. Before her stands Eros, the winged god of love, holding a ribbon or sash. Behind the woman stands a pillar with the inscription ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ, or APHRODITE, the goddess of love. Such labels are rare on vases, and scholars debate whether this names the woman shown as Aphrodite herself, with her son Eros, or a bride envisioning herself as Aphrodite, just before her wedding.
A black ceramic bell-krater vessel features light orange-tan detailing and a pot with two horizontal handles. A central scene depicts a woman in a flowing garment, bracing herself with one hand as she leans back on a stool and holds a mirror in the other. The winged god Eros stands nude in front of her, holding a ribbon draped over both hands. A pillar behind the woman reads "ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ," or "APHRODITE."

Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

c. 370–360 BCE

Graz Painter

(South Italian, Apulian, active c. 380–360 BCE)
South Italian, Apulian

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