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Diosphos Painter

Oil Flask (Lekythos)
Now On View

Maker

Attributed to Diosphos Painter (500 BCE - 475 BCE)

Culture

Greek

Title

Oil Flask (Lekythos)

Year

ca. 500-490 BCE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

clay

Geography

Place Made: Attica

Dimensions

Height: 20.6 cm (8 1/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

37.020X

Type

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

Dionysos, god of wine, revelry, and ecstatic madness, is often shown carousing with his thiasos, or retinue. He is shown on this oil flask (lekythos) with three of his main followers, the maenads. Literally translated as "raving ones,” the maenads were always female, generally inebriated, and carried a thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy or vine leaves and here topped by a cluster of leaves (more usually, a pinecone). Dionysos is twisted, looking back, and appears to be pouring wine from the tipped high-handled drinking cup (kantharos) he carries in his right hand. Grape vines wind around and through the scene, adding to the sense of frenzy that Dionysos inspired.

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Attributed to Diosphos Painter (500 BCE - 475 BCE)
Oil Flask (Lekythos), ca. 500-490 BCE
Terracotta, black-figure on white ground
Height: 20.6 cm (8 1/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth 37.020X

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