Oinochoe with Dionysus and a Comic Figure

Artist The Felton Painter (Greek)

Place of OriginItaly, Apulia, likely from Taranto

Dateabout 375 BCE

DimensionswhatH: 8 1/4 in. (21.0 cm); Diam: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); Diam (foot): 4 17/32 in. (11.5 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1967.136

Not on View

DescriptionThis red-figure oinochoe features a trefoil mouth and a continuous frieze depicting a Dionysiac scene. The figures are enclosed by patterned borders of egg-and-dot, ivy, and a meander band. Central to the scene is Dionysus reclining on a couch, with Ariadne (or a maenad) pouring wine into his phiale. Flanking figures include a satyr and a maenad in motion. A comic character, represented as a person with dwarfism, stands to the side, possibly referencing theatrical performances. Additional attributes such as a mask and tympanum appear above the central figure.

Label TextThis ancient wine jug, made around 375 BC in southern Italy, depicts the Greek god Dionysus reclining on a panther skin during a lively celebration. He holds out a shallow drinking bowl to receive wine from a woman. Nearby stands a small, cloaked figure holding a short white stick. In earlier studies, this figure was described as a dwarf, but today scholars understand him as a comic performer—his costume and posture suggest he belongs to the tradition of ancient farces that made fun of gods, heroes, and everyday life. To the right, a satyr (a follower of Dionysus with human and goat features) offers a ribbon to a dancing woman. Above them hang a theatrical mask and a small hand drum—symbols that connect the scene to music, drama, and ritual. Dionysus was not only the god of wine but also the god of theater, celebration, and transformation. This vase was made in Apulia, a Greek-speaking region of southern Italy, by an artist now known as the Felton Painter. His workshop specialized in small vessels with big personalities—mixing myth, humor, and transformation. Scientific tests suggest the clay came from near the city of Taranto. Apulian red-figure vases often depict comic figures with exaggerated, dwarf-like features—short limbs, rounded torsos, and oversized buttocks or genitals—usually shown in padded costumes. These characters appear in playful scenes that parody myths or everyday life, using humor, reversal, and physical exaggeration to entertain. Rather than representing real individuals with dwarfism, these figures reflect a visual tradition that embraced distortion as a tool of comedy and social commentary.Published References

Münzen and Medaillen A.G., Auktion 34, Basel, May 6, 1967, p. 96, lot no. 183, pl. 63.

Trendall, A.D., Phylax Vases, London, 1967, (University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, Bulletin Supplement No. 19), p. 85, no. 193, pl. 13B.

Riefstahl, Rudolph M., "Greek Vases," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. II, no. 2, 1968, p. 47, repr.

Hoffman, H., Collecting Greek Antiquites, New York, 1971, p. 135, figs. 112a, 112b, and 112c.

Schauenburg, K., "Der Besorgle Marsyas," Mitteilungen des deutschen archaeologischen Institutes Roemische Abeilung, bd. 79, 1972, pp. 317-322, taf. 131, 2 and 132, 1 and 2.

Trendall, A.D., and A. Cambitoglou, The Red-figured Vases of Apulia, Oxford, 1978, vol. 1, p. 172, no. 5, and (i), 50.

Luckner, Kurt T., in The Art of South Italy, Vases from Magna Graecia, Richmond, 1982, p. 101, no. 29.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Toledo Museum of Art, fasc. 2, U.S.A., fasc. 20, Mainz, 1984, pl. 90.

Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC), Zurich, 1981-1999, vol. III, p. 457, no. 375, repr. vol. III, p. 340.

Gazda, Elaine K., The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii: Ancient Ritual, Modern Muse, Ann Arbor, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and The University of Michigan Museum of Art, 2000, no. 71, p. 205-206, repr.

Thorn, Jed, "New Evidence for Apulian Red-Figure Production Centers," Archaeometry, vol. 52, no. 5, Oct. 2010, repr. (col.) p. 783.

Castaldo, Daniela, and Eleonora Rocconi, “Music on Stage in Red-Figure Vase-Painting of Magna Graecia (400–320 BC): The Role of Music on So-Called Phlyax Vases,” in Sound from the Past: The Interpretation of Musical Artifacts in an Archaeological Context, edited by Eichmann, Ricardo, Jianjun Fang, and Lars-Christian Koch, Rahden, Verlag Marie Leidorf, 2012, p. 351.

Dasen, Veronique, Dwarfs in Ancient Egypt and Greece, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2013, pp. 241-242, repr. pl. 57 (2).

Exhibition History

Richmond, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Tulsa, Philbrook Art Cente; Detroit Institute of Arts, The Art of South Italy: Vases from Magna Graecia,, 1989-1990, no. 29.

Ann Arbor, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii: Ancient Ritual, Modern Muse, 2000, no. 71.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Trendall, A.D., "The Felton Painter," In Honor of Daryl Lindsay, Melbourne, 1964, pp. 46-48.