Oinochoe (Pitcher)

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

about 440 BCE

Attributed to The Painter of Naples 3136
Greek; Athens

Below the pouring spout of this shiny black vessel is a youthful musician holding a seven-stringed lyre, its sound box rendered to look like tortoiseshell. The plectrum, or pick, is tied to the lowermost of the instrument’s two upright bars. A himation, or mantle, falls from his left shoulder. Unusually, he wears leggings. The wreath encircling his head is a common accessory of symposium attendees. Perhaps he has or will perform for the gathering of men.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Oinochoe (Pitcher)
Place: Athens (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.: 440 BCE
Medium: terracotta, red-figure
Dimensions: H. 19.3 cm (7 5/8 in.) diam. 13.7 cm (5 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson through The Antiquarian Society
Reference Number: 1907.12
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/87654/manifest.json

Wilhelm Fröhner, Collection van Branteghem: Vases peints et terre cuites antiques (Paris, 1892), no. 93.
John D. Beazley, Attic Red-Figure Vase Painters, (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), p. 632, No. 2.
Adrienne Lezzi-Hafter, Der Schuwalow-Maler (Mainz: Von Zabern, 1976), p. 102 no. N 1, pl. 78.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 38.

Art Institute of Chicago, Form and Function, March 3, 1986-October 8, 1986.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Human Figure in Greek and Roman Art: From the Permanent Collection (Part 2), Gallery 120A, January 13, 1989-February 21, 1990.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 155, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Dionysos Unmasked: Ancient Sculpture and Early Prints, Gallery 150 and 154, July 31, 2015 - February 15, 2016.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, November 11, 2012 - July 17, 2015 and February 26, 2016 - present.

Alphonse van Branteghem, Brussels; sold, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 30-June 1, 1892, lot 93, to Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1907.

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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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.

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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.