Knob-Handled Patera (Dish)
330-320 BCE
Medium
terracotta, red-figure
Dimensions
17.7 × 67.3 × 68.5 cm (7 × 26 1/2 × 27 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
102081
Rights
Public Domain
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 t...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...