Calyx Krater (mixing bowl for wine and water): Exotic Dancer

Artists

Description

This vase features a lively party scene, focusing on a central dancer who is highlighted by white skin and clothing. She dances atop a small table, stretching her arms out in front of her as she kicks her legs into the air. Her short, knee-length tunic is of an oriental style, coming from the eastern regions of the Mediterranean, white with black speckles, and she wears a matching headdress. She is accompanied by a pipe-player who stands in front of her wearing a long tunic and her hair tied back donning an ivy wreath. Behind her stands the nude figure of Silenos (elderly companion of Dionysos) with one hand on his hip and the other holding a thyrsus (ivy-topped staff). Mirroring him on the other side of the dancer is another companion of Dionysos: a maenad. She faces the dancer wearing a long tunic fastened at the waist and has a fine headdress and earrings. She also holds a thyrsus while her other hand rests on her hip. On the opposite side of the vase, in far cruder rendering, are two draped youths facing each other in conversation. The youth on the left holds an oil flask and a strigil, two items associated with athletic activities in the gymnasium. The other holds a walking stick, a frequent symbol of Athenian male citizenship. Above them is a semicircular object with a cross-like design.

Dimensions

H. 22.9 x Dia. 22.6 cm (9 x 8 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Joseph C. Hoppin, Pomfret, CT, (1893-1901), bequest; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1925.