Archaic Cypriot Terracotta Jug in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 2010

Title: Terracotta jug

Medium; Technique: Terracotta

Culture: Cypriot

Period: Cypro-Archaic I

Date: ca. 750–600 B.C.

Dimensions: H. 7 15/16 in. (20.2 cm)

Classification: Vases

Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76

Accession Number: 74.51.512


Description:

The astonishing figure shows a compact body with small hooves, one of a pair of wings, and a human face. The iconographical source is Near Eastern, possibly one of the human-headed composite creatures that figure prominently on readily portable seals. During the period of Assyrian control of Cyprus (ca. 707–612 B.C.) such influence are particularly likely.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...