Artwork Page for Red-Figure Bell-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Bust of Dionysos and Comic Actors (A); Dionysos, Satyr, Maenad (B)

Details / Information for Red-Figure Bell-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Bust of Dionysos and Comic Actors (A); Dionysos, Satyr, Maenad (B)

Red-Figure Bell-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Bust of Dionysos and Comic Actors (A); Dionysos, Satyr, Maenad (B)

c. 390–380 BCE

attributed to Choregos Painter

(South Italian, Apulian, active c. 390–380 BCE)
Culture
South Italian, Apulian
Medium
ceramic
Measurements
Overall: 38 cm (14 15/16 in.); Diameter of rim: 40.3 cm (15 7/8 in.); Diameter of foot: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1989.73
Public Domain
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Location
102D Pre-Roman
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Did You Know?

The large bust of Dionysos may represent a stage prop or symbolize the multifaceted god.

Description

Dionysos, the god of wine, theater, and the mysteries, dominates both sides of this bell-krater, a vessel for mixing water and wine. On the front, he appears in bust form, wearing a fillet and laurel wreath. Over his shoulder and behind his head rests his thyrsos, sprouting grapevines. Comic actors, identifiable by their masks and padded costumes, flank the colossal bust, stretching for a bunch of grapes on the left and holding a large skyphos (wine cup) on the right. On the reverse, Dionysos marches in procession with his retinue, a satyr and maenad.
A black ceramic bell-krater vessel features orange detailing and two horizontal handles. In the center, a portrait bust of the god Dionysus dominates the scene, looking to our right with a band of cloth running over a laurel wreath in his curly, dark hair. A person on the left stretches for a bunch of hanging grapes. A person on our right, white hair and hash marked body the only white, squats holding a vessel.

Red-Figure Bell-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Bust of Dionysos and Comic Actors (A); Dionysos, Satyr, Maenad (B)

c. 390–380 BCE

Choregos Painter

(South Italian, Apulian, active c. 390–380 BCE)
South Italian, Apulian

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