Red-Figure Bell Krater by the Christie Painter in the Walters Art Museum, September 2009

Red-Figure Bell Krater


Creator: Christie Painter (Greek, active ca. 450 BC-420 BC) (?) (Artist)

Period: ca. 440 BC (Classical)

Medium: terracotta (Ceramics)

Accession Number: 48.74

Measurements: 11 1/2 x 13 3/8 x 12 1/8 in. (29.2 x 34 x 30.8 cm)

Geographies: Athens, Greece (Place of Origin)

The wine-god Dionysus appears often on vases of this shape (called a bell "krater"), which held wine for drinking parties. He is usually shown as a bearded and majestic god. Here, Dionysus holds a "thyrsus" (a pole often twined with ivy and grapevines and topped with a pine cone) in one hand and a "kantharos" (a high-handled drinking cup) in the other. He turns his head to gaze at a maenad who follows, while a satyr playing the double flutes leads the procession. The maenad carries an "oinochoe" (a wine jug) and a lighted torch, indicating that the group's journey takes place at night.

Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/29124/red-figure-bell-krater/