Archaic I

Terracotta jug

In vase-painting of mainland Greece, floral and foliate ornament is always contained and precise. This jug and 74.51.509 are noteworthy for the almost tropical lushness that envelops the body of the vase and the four figures on it. An elaborate central lotus stalk is flanked by two birds. Behind them, a winged stag grazes on the left, a winged doe turns as she walks away on the right. The stylistic contrast to the hard-edged depictions of birds and fish is noteworthy. It is not clear whether the reason is purely artistic or in some way iconographic. 9 3/8 × 7 1/8 in. (23.8 × 18.1 cm)

Date

750 - 600 BC

Accession No.

74.51.510

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

“Found at Citium” (Cesnola 1894, pl. CVI. 857, 858) Before 1874, found at Kition, Cyprus; until 1874, collection of Luigi Palma di Cesnola; acquired in 1874, purchased from L.P. di Cesnola.

References

Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1894. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 2. pl. CVI. 857, 858, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 752, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Markoe, Glenn and Nancy J. Serwint. 1985. Animal Style on Greek and Etruscan Vases : An Exhibition at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum. no. 40, p. 41, Burlington, Vermont: Robert Hull Fleming Museum, University of Vermont.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 158, pp. 98-99, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.