The Getty Villa

Pregnant Female Figure Attributed to the Schuster Master Cycladic, about 2400 BC Marble 16 in. 90.AA.114 This female figure with crossed arms is typical of the sculpture of the Cyclades in the mid-2000s B.C. Scholars have divided Cycladic sculpture into groups or types indicating stylistic and chronological developments. This nearly complete figure features stylistic traits of both the Spedos and Dokathismata types, such as the exaggerated curve of the top of the head, the deep groove between the legs, and the prominent aquiline nose. The slightly swollen belly of this figure may indicate pregnancy. As preserved today, most Cycladic figures appear almost minimalist, but their original effect--with painted facial features, hair, and occasionally jewelry--was quite different. On this figure, only traces of red paint remain on the forehead. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=15192

Double Jar with Incised Patterns Unknown Cycladic, 3000 - 2800 B.C. Terracotta 4 x 7 3/16 x 3 1/2 in. 91.AE.31 Cycladic potters in the Pelos period, about 3000 to 2800 B.C., produced characteristic kandiles with globular bodies, and tall necks and feet. Cycladic pottery of this period was decorated with geometric designs incised into the surface of the vessel and often filled with a white chalky substance that contrasts with the darker surface of the pottery. The herringbone pattern was a typical motif for this period, but the deep grooves on the feet of the vessel are unusual. This example, a double kandila, is extremely rare. The broken area on this vase shows nicely how the small vases were each made separately and then joined with a clay bridge. The jar was burnished before firing, giving it a shiny compacted surface and making it less porous. Kandiles take their name from their resemblance to modern Greek church lamps, and they would have been used to hold liquids such as oil or wine. The potter's wheel was not yet in common use at this period, so this jar was made by hand. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=15245

Water Jar with a Cuttlefish Unknown Mycenaean, Greece, 1300 - 1200 B.C. Terracotta 5 1/2 x 6 3/16 in. 96.AE.69 A stylized cuttlefish decorates this miniature Mycenaean hydria, a three-handled jar used for carrying water. Somewhat like an octopus, the cuttlefish is a sea creature with eight short tentacles, as well as two long ones used for catching prey. On this vase, the artist extended the two long tentacles, wrapping them all the way around the vase. The eyes of the creature are depicted as concentric circles near the sides of the body. Scholars use the term Mycenaean to describe the culture that flourished in Greece in the period from 1500 to 1200 B.C. Originating on the mainland of Greece, Mycenaean culture spread by means of trade and colonization over much of the Mediterranean over the course of centuries. Many of the shapes and motifs found in Mycenaean pottery were adapted from the Minoan culture of the island of Crete, which the Mycenaeans first traded with, then ruled. Lively natural motifs adopted from Minoan pottery, like the cuttlefish, gradually became stiff and stylized in Mycenaean pottery. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=35631

Jug with a Man and a Bull Attributed to Painter 20 Greek, 1250 - 1225 B.C. Terracotta 6 9/16 x 5 1/8 in. 85.AE.145 A sphinx holding a pomegranate branch, a bull, birds, and a man grasping the bull by one horn decorate this Mycenaean sieve jar. With its strainer spout, this jar would have been used for wine or any other liquid that might contain particles needing filtering. Most decoration on Mycenaean pottery consisted of extremely stylized motifs of marine or floral origin. Around 1400 B.C., however, artists, probably inspired by wall painting, developed a less common pictorial style of pottery decoration. Bulls were frequent subjects on this pictorial pottery, and the man grasping the bull by the horn on this jar may be a bull jumper. Bull jumping, a ritual performance that originated in the Minoan culture on Crete, involved literally grabbing the horns of a bull and somersaulting over its back. If this man was a bull jumper, the sphinx and the pomegranates may indicate an unsuccessful leap resulting in his death, since they had funerary connotations in later Greek art. Most Mycenaean pictorial pottery has been found in the eastern Mediterranean, especially on Cyprus. In the 1300s and 1200s B.C., Mycenaean Greeks exerted a strong influence over Cyprus. Scholars are not certain whether Mycenaean pictorial pottery found on Cyprus was imported or made there, either by immigrant Mycenaean potters or by Cypriot potters under Mycenaean influence. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12943

Stemmed Cup with Seashells Unknown Mycenaean, Greece, 1350 - 1300 B.C. Terracotta 6 7/8 in. 96.AE.310 A band of three shells decorates each side of this Mycenaean stemmed cup. Both the shape of the vessel and its decorative motif are typical for the period from about 1350 to 1300 B.C. Beginning earlier still, around 1500 B.C., Mycenaean potters decorated their wares with very naturalistic renderings of marine life, a style adopted from the island of Crete. Over the centuries, these pictures became more stylized, as can be seen on this cup. The period from 1350 to 1300 B.C. was a period of growth and prosperity for the Mycenaean kingdoms. Standardization in both the forms and decoration of pottery developed among widely spread communities--evidence of an organized, highly centralized culture. The stemmed cup was one of the most popular vases in this period. Enormous quantities of these vessels were kept in Mycenaean palaces and may have been used at large banquets. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=110628

Offering Dish with Lobes Achaemenid, from ancient Persia, 500-400 BC Silver Phiale mesomphalos Decorated with lobes and geometric patterns, this dish was hammered from a single sheet of silver. The omphalos (raised central boss) was designed for a person's fingers: with the thumb on the rim, the vessel could be held securely at an angle to pour liquid offerings to the gods. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Lid with Three Horses Greek, made in Boiotia, 760-750 BC Terracotta Pyxis lid Inventory # 71.AE.217 The three small, stylized horses that decorate this lid appear to wear harnesses and may represent a chariot team. The lid once belonged to a pyxis, a cylindrical container used to hold precious objects such as jewelry or cosmetics. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Pitcher with Animals Greek, made in Athens, 750-700 BC Terracotta Oinochoe Inventory # 82.AE.56.12.1 Bands of diamonds, leaves, meanders, and triangles decorate the surface of this pitcher. The neck bears stylized images of a bird, a snake, and a horse. Because of the geometric designs and patters characteristic of works of art produced from 900 BC to 700 BC, when this vessel was made, scholars refer to this time as the Geometric period. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Statuette of a Lyre Player and His Companion Unknown Greek, 690 - 670 B.C. Bronze 4 1/2 in. 90.AB.6 Cast in solid bronze, this statuette of a standing lyre player and a smaller companion dates to the early 600s B.C. The statuette was probably dedicated to the gods and was originally attached to another object, as indicated by the holes in the base. The figures' style and proportions indicate an origin on the island of Crete. The statuette's composition and subject matter are unusual. Groups of figures are not common in Greek small bronzes, nor are lyre players, although they are often found in other media. The unusual subject of the Getty Museum's bronze has led some scholars to speculate about the statuette's meaning. By the early 600s B.C., Homer's poems were spreading throughout Greece and influencing the visual arts. The lyre player may represent a poet such as those who traveled throughout Greece reciting the epic poems of gods and heroes. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=15113

Shield Strap with Mythological Scenes Signed by Aristodamos of Argos Greek, Argos, about 575 B.C. Bronze 6 3/8 x 3 1/8 in. 84.AC.11 Vivid scenes drawn from Greek mythology decorate the small surviving portion of this thin bronze strip. The top panel shows Menelaos, king of Sparta, reclaiming his wife Helen after the Trojan War, which had been caused by Helen's desertion of Menelaos for her lover Paris, prince of Troy. At the right, looking on, is the goddess Athena, identified by the name written beside her in Greek. The lower panel shows the centaur Nessos abducting Deianeira, the wife of the hero Herakles. This piece comes from a strap on the inside of a shield. In the early 500s B.C., the leather strap on a shield's interior was often decorated with strips of bronze showing mythological scenes or monsters. Many such straps come from the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, where worshippers left elaborate shields as dedications or gifts to the gods. The city of Argos in southern Greece was the major production site of this art form. Although many shield straps include writing that identifies the mythological figures, the lower panel of this strap displays the artist's signature, a rarity in this medium and one of the earliest such occurrences in all of Greek art. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12824

Fragment of a Storage Jar with Rearing Horses Greek, made on Crete, 700-600 BC Terracotta (baked clay) Pithos fragment Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Architectural Plaque with a Lioness Greek, made in Ionia (present-day western Turkey), 550-525 BC Terracotta Sima fragment Inventory # 96.AD.100 This once brightly painted figure ornaments a fragment of a sima, an architectural element that served as a gutter at the edge of a roof. Simas often concealed and protected exposed wooden building elements. The formidable image of the lioness symbolically guarded the building it adorned. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Pitcher with a Waterbird Greek, made in Ionia (present-day western Turkey) 625-600 BC Terracotta Trefoil oinochoe Inventory # 82.AE.126 Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Pitcher with Lions and Sphinxes Attributed to the Painter of Vatican 73 Greek, Corinth, 650 - 625 B.C. Terracotta 10 7/8 x 7 11/16 in. 85.AE.88 Bands of animals, including lions, panthers, bulls, boars, sphinxes, goats, a ram, and a swan, decorate this Corinthian black-figure oinochoe or jug. With their added colors against the light background, they serve a decorative rather than a narrative role. Rosettes fill the areas between the animals. The use of large areas of incised polychrome decoration such as the tongues or the scale pattern on the shoulder of this vase is typical of Corinthian pottery in the period from 640 to 625 B.C. The oinochoe was part of the standard Greek table service for the mixing and serving of wine. This one has a pinched spout to facilitate pouring. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12922

Pitcher with Lions and Panthers Attributed to the Painter of Vatican 73 Greek, Corinth, 650 - 625 B.C. Terracotta 12 15/16 x 6 11/16 in. 85.AE.89 Four friezes of animals decorate the body of this Corinthian black-figure olpe, or pitcher. The rows of slowly moving animals--lions, panthers, goats, deer, bulls, boar, swan--are typical choices for a Corinthian vase-painter in the second half of the 600s B.C. Rosettes surround and separate the animals. The animals and filling ornament are carefully drawn, and the vase-painter applied a large amount of added red color, which contrasts with the black of the glaze and the whitish color of the clay. The olpe was a favorite vessel in this period among Corinthian vase-painters. In the early 600s B.C., Corinthian potters and vase-painters discovered the black-figure technique of pottery decoration. This new Corinthian pottery, with its simple and repetitive yet visually attractive and colorful decoration, completely took over the pottery market and was widely exported throughout the Mediterranean. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12923

Pitcher with Geese, Dogs, and Ruminants Greek, made in Ionia (present-day western Turkey), about 625 BC Terracotta oinochoe Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Oil Container Unknown Greek, Corinth, 600 - 575 B.C. Terracotta 4 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. 92.AE.4 The Greek hero Herakles battles the Lernean Hydra on this Corinthian black-figure aryballos. In the second of the labors assigned by King Eurystheus, Herakles was required to destroy the Hydra, a monster with numerous snaky heads, one of which was immortal. Shown in profile, and accompanied by his companion Iolaos, Herakles grasps one head while stabbing at the creature with his sword. His protectress the goddess Athena stands behind the hero, gesturing her support with raised hands. Painted inscriptions identify all of these figures. Under the vase's handle, decorated with the head of a woman, a chariot with a charioteer stands waiting to carry off the victorious hero. An aryballos was a vessel used to store and carry perfumed oil, which was frequently used for bathing in the Greek world. Most Corinthian pottery at this time was decorated with rows of animals; narrative scenes such as this one are less common. Among scenes depicting Herakles' labors, however, the Lernean Hydra was a favorite with Corinthian vase-painters. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=22027

Water Jar Attributed to the Eagle Painter Etruscan, Caere, about 525 B.C. Terracotta 17 9/16 x 13 in. 83.AE.346 On this black-figure hydria, the Greek hero Herakles battles the Lernean Hydra while a large crab nips at his foot. His companion Iolaos attacks from the other side, cutting off one of the monster's heads with a harpe or short curved sword. Two sphinxes flank the handle on the back of the vessel, and floral decoration covers the rest of the vase: an ivy tendril on the shoulder and a palmette and lotus frieze on the lower body. This hydria is one of a small group of painted vases produced at Caere in Etruria. All these vases appear to come from one workshop, which may have had two artists. Caeretan hydriai display many of the basic elements of Greek vase-painting reinterpreted for an Etruscan market, using a more vivid range of colors and emphasizing the importance of floral ornament in the decoration. They are unusual in that the artist used a template for the floral decoration, a technique not otherwise known in Greek vase-painting. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12550