Pelike (storage vessel for a tomb)
Artist: The Painter of Athens 1472 (Greek)
Date: 350-330 BCE
Dimensions:
H: 14 7/16 in. (37.6 cm); Diam (rim): 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm); Max Diam (body): 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm); Diam (foot): 5 7/8 in. (14.8 cm)
Medium: Wheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Rita Barbour Kern in memory of Marguerite Wilson Barbour
Object number: 1993.49
Label Text:A startled Thetis, daughter of sea god Poseidon, is shown here crouching with her hand raised in surprise. Zeus, king of the gods, knows that his command that sea nymph Thetis is to marry the mortal Peleus will not be well received and hence gives the advice to Peleus to surprise her while she sleeps and bind her down. However, Thetis managed to shift herself into many forms to combat the assault, including fire, water, a lioness, and a serpent. Peleus remained unscathed by the shapeshifting however, and here catches Thetis and her sisters unaware while they bathe. Some sources believe the figure in the upper left to be a representation of guilt or shame, Adios, since her face is partially hidden by a cloak; others speculate that this figure might be Aphrodite, the co-conspirator of Peleus’ final and successful plot to capture Thetis.
Not on view
In Collection(s)