Proto-Attic Hydria with Sphinxes | Dickinson College Commentaries

Terracotta water jug with two registers of decoration. Around the neck a chain of young men and women holding hands, painted with reddish-brown pigment in silhouette. Both have shoulder-length hair, the women wearing long skirts, the men apparently nude. On the belly, left to right, a man in silhouette followed by two sphinxes, also in silhouette, with cat bodies, wings with feathers depicted by circles. Above and below the jug is decorated with bands of digaonal wavy lines and lattice-like designs.

Annotations

Proto-Attic hydria. The women and men around the neck may be performing a dance.

Online Resources

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung, Inv. 31312

Subjects

Type

Image

License

Creative Commons Attribution

Properties

Agent

Mesogeia Painter

Date

Late 8th–Early 7th century BCE

Medium

Dimensions

h: 41cm

Image Credit

Wikimedia: Anagoria