Dublin Core
Title
hydria, jug, pot,
Identifier
Subject
Peleus Thetis dolphin
Description
Pitcher with 3 handles, red-figured in glazed red clay. Shows Peleus seizing Thetis wearing stephane and holding dolphin, a symbol of her transformation.
Creator
Henderson, Alexander Dr
Source
Berlin painter
Date
Early: -600 Late: -500 Period: IA
Contributor
Henderson, Alexander Dr
Relation
pottery fired.clay glaze
Format
H: 482 mm Dia: 315 mm
Abstract
Between the handles in front is Peleus seizing Thetis, who holds a dolphin in her left hand as symbol of her transformation. Thetis wears a stefanh. Eyes in both figures still drawn in full, though face is in profile. Outline first marked in, all round (in one continuous sweep of the pencil); then colouring done; finally details marked in black lines, which project over both red figures and black ground. The serpent, which usually in this subject is biting Peleus' leg, is here wanting.
Athenian clay was the finest known and enabled the Greeks of the 6th century BC onwards to produce very fine pottery vessels which had been thrown on a potter's wheel, which was an important innovation, which had first been pioneered in the 2nd millennium BC. The potters became very skilled and made vessels in many forms in refined shapes. They were decorated with finely drawn figures and scenes from both mythology and everyday life. The earlier ceramics, black-figure wares, were decorated with black figures, painted in black slip on red bodied vessels. From about 530BC red-figure wares were produced, with the figures created by outlining and negative painting around them in black slip, and with black line detail added within the figures. The body colour of the vessel gave the figures a vitality. The standard of potting and of painting achieved its most accomplished form during this period, about 440-330 BC, when Athens became the most important city in Greece. This is a red-figure hydria, or water-jar. It is a new shape, with a handle at the back, which rises well above the level of the rim, and a handle on the shoulder at each side. It has a tapered base with a flat foot. The vessel would have been made in several parts, joined by slip. The painting has been executed on the front, first, by drawing the outline as one continuous line, followed by the colouring and, finally, the detail of the figures painted in fine, black flowing lines, which project over both figures and black ground. The style is not yet accurate anatomically, as in the arrangement of Peleus' arms, and the eyes are drawn as full-face, although the faces are in profile. Despite this, the scene has great energy and sophistication. The drawing is of very high quality and depicts the story of Peleus seizing Thetis, who was a sea-deity. Thetis wears a stephanos, shown as a flowing coat-like robe with a zig-zag border, and holds a dolphin in her hand, which is a symbol of her transformation. Peleus had to remain holding her while she went through her transformations in order for her to marry him. Normally in this story a serpent bites Peleus' leg, but this is not portayed here. The hydria dates from between 440 BC and 330 BC and is part of a collection of Greek vases made by Dr Alexander Henderson of Caskieben, Dyce, Aberdeenshire, during the earlier 19th century.
Athenian clay was the finest known and enabled the Greeks of the 6th century BC onwards to produce very fine pottery vessels which had been thrown on a potter's wheel, which was an important innovation, which had first been pioneered in the 2nd millennium BC. The potters became very skilled and made vessels in many forms in refined shapes. They were decorated with finely drawn figures and scenes from both mythology and everyday life. The earlier ceramics, black-figure wares, were decorated with black figures, painted in black slip on red bodied vessels. From about 530BC red-figure wares were produced, with the figures created by outlining and negative painting around them in black slip, and with black line detail added within the figures. The body colour of the vessel gave the figures a vitality. The standard of potting and of painting achieved its most accomplished form during this period, about 440-330 BC, when Athens became the most important city in Greece. This is a red-figure hydria, or water-jar. It is a new shape, with a handle at the back, which rises well above the level of the rim, and a handle on the shoulder at each side. It has a tapered base with a flat foot. The vessel would have been made in several parts, joined by slip. The painting has been executed on the front, first, by drawing the outline as one continuous line, followed by the colouring and, finally, the detail of the figures painted in fine, black flowing lines, which project over both figures and black ground. The style is not yet accurate anatomically, as in the arrangement of Peleus' arms, and the eyes are drawn as full-face, although the faces are in profile. Despite this, the scene has great energy and sophistication. The drawing is of very high quality and depicts the story of Peleus seizing Thetis, who was a sea-deity. Thetis wears a stephanos, shown as a flowing coat-like robe with a zig-zag border, and holds a dolphin in her hand, which is a symbol of her transformation. Peleus had to remain holding her while she went through her transformations in order for her to marry him. Normally in this story a serpent bites Peleus' leg, but this is not portayed here. The hydria dates from between 440 BC and 330 BC and is part of a collection of Greek vases made by Dr Alexander Henderson of Caskieben, Dyce, Aberdeenshire, during the earlier 19th century.