Hydria with Lion-Head Handle
Hydria with Lion-Head Handle
Place of OriginGreece, reportedly from Thessaly
Dateabout 490 BCE
DimensionsH (max) 20 3/4 × H (to rim) 18 7/16 × W (max) 15 1/2 × D (max) 13 1/4 × Diam (rim) 7 5/8 × Diam (body) 12 3/8 × Diam (base) 6 1/16 in. (52.7 × 46.8 × 39.4 × 33.7 × 19.4 × 31.4 × 15.4 cm).
MediumBronze
ClassificationMetalwork
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1964.125
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic
Collections
Published References"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series, vol. 7, no. 4, Winter 1964, repr. p. 80.
- Decorative Arts
Wittmann, Otto, "Treasures at Toledo, Ohio," Apollo, vol. LXXXI, no. 35, January 1965, pp. 28-35, mentioned p. 35.
Bothmer, Dietrich von, Review: "Erika Diehl's Die Hydria, Formgeschichte und Verwendung im Kult des Altertums," Mainz, 1964, GNOMON, Kristische Zeitschrift Für die Gesamte Klassische Altertumswissenschaft, v. 37, 1965, p. 601-602.
"Accessions of American and Canadian Museums," Art Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 2, Summer 1967, p. 153, repr. p. 155.
Toledo Museum of Art, A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1966, repr.
Sowder, Amy Ann, Greek Bronze Hydriai, PhD diss., Emory University, Laney Graduate School, Department of Art History, 2009.
Tarditi, Chiara, “Bronze Vessels from the Acropolis and the Definition of the Athenian Production in Archaic and Early Classical Periods,” in Artistry in Bronze: The Greeks and Their Legacy, edited by Jens M. Daehner, Kenneth Lapatin, and Ambra Spinelli, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum; Getty Conservation Institute, 2017, p. 202, n. 17.
Tarditi, Chiara, “Beyond Trade: The Presence of Archaic and Classical Greek Bronze Vessels in the Northern Black Sea Area,” in Greek Art in Motion: Studies in Honour of Sir John Boardman on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday, Oxford, Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, 2019, p. 145, n. 50, 147, n. 53.
Exhibition History"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art, 1964. Comparative ReferencesSee also Bothmer, Dietrich von, "Bronze Hydriai," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 6, Feb. 1955, p. 193, et. seq., esp. pp. 193-196.cf. Bothmer, Dietrich von, "Newly Acquired Bronzes - Greek, Etrusan, and Roman," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 19, no. 5, January 1961, p. 139 et swq., esp. p. 141.
cf. Richter, G.M.A., A Handbook of Greek Art, 2nd ed., London, 1960, p. 199, et seq.
Label TextAlthough today we think of Greek painted pottery as luxury items, in antiquity they were relatively modest substitutes for truly luxurious vessels in either bronze or precious metals. The body of this vase is made of thinly hammered bronze; the foot, rim, and all handles were cast separately and attached. The long handle in back is decorated with the head of a roaring lion at the top and the pelt of a lion, including head and tail, at the base. The hydria vase shape was designed to collect water from a fountain. The two side handles were used to lift the vessel; the tall back handle was for pouring.13th century
11th century
11th century
425-350 BCE
19th century
19th century
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st-2nd century CE
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