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Knob-Handled Patera (Dish)

A work made of terracotta, red-figure.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta, red-figure.

Date:

330-320 BCE

Artist:

Attributed to the Baltimore Painter
Greek; Apulia, Italy

About this artwork

The circular dish with knobs alongside its handles is a characteristically Apulian vessel. A patera was typically used to pour libations, but this example is unusually large. Bands of varying width containing repetitive patterns and scrolling tendrils interrupted by female heads surround a central scene depicting Hermes, the god of travelers, leading the harvest goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone from the underworld, where the girl had been held captive by Hades. Persephone was forced to return for part of every year, and during that time Demeter’s displeasure would cause the fertile earth to turn barren. Her story symbolized the life, death, and rebirth of both crops and people.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Knob-Handled Patera (Dish)

Place

Apulia (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

330 BCE–320 BCE

Medium

terracotta, red-figure

Dimensions

17.7 × 67.3 × 68.5 cm (7 × 26 1/2 × 27 in.)

Credit Line

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund

Reference Number

1984.10

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/102081/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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