Red-Figure Calyx-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Medea in Chariot (A); Telephos with Baby Orestes (B)
c. 400 BC
Policoro Painter
Policoro Painter (South Italian, Lucanian, active c. 400 BC)
Greek and Roman Art
Red-Figure Calyx-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Medea in Chariot (A); Telephos with Baby Orestes (B), c. 400 BC. Near the Policoro Painter (South Italian, Lucanian, active c. 400 BC). Ceramic; diameter of mouth: 49.9 cm (19 5/8 in.); overall: 50.5 cm (19 7/8 in.); diameter of foot: 22 cm (8 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1991.1 The remarkable scene on the front of this vase relates to the famous tragedy Medea, written by Euripides and first produced in Athens in 431 BC. Framed in the center by a halo (recalling her sun god grandfather Helios), the sorceress Medea flies off in a dragon-drawn chariot. Seeking revenge against her husband Jason, leader of the Argonauts, Medea has just slain their two children. Two Furies flank her, while Jason and a distraught nurse and teacher approach the bodies on the altar below.
A different tragedy unfolds on the other side of the vase, from Euripides’s Telephos (438 BC). The wounded warrior Telephos holds the baby Orestes hostage at an altar, with Agamemnon and Clytemnestra rushing to save their son. This vase includes scenes connected to two Athenian tragedies dealing with children—Medea and Telephos.
A different tragedy unfolds on the other side of the vase, from Euripides’s Telephos (438 BC). The wounded warrior Telephos holds the baby Orestes hostage at an altar, with Agamemnon and Clytemnestra rushing to save their son. This vase includes scenes connected to two Athenian tragedies dealing with children—Medea and Telephos.
- Maker/Artist
- Policoro Painter
- Classification
- Ceramic
- Formatted Medium
- ceramic
- Medium
- ceramic
- Dimensions
- Diameter of mouth: 49.9 cm (19 5/8 in.); Overall: 50.5 cm (19 7/8 in.); Diameter of foot: 22 cm (8 11/16 in.)
- Departments
- Greek and Roman Art
- Accession Number
- 1991.1
- Credit Line
- Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Exhibitions
- Notable Acquisitions, Coming of Age in Ancient Greece, The Art of Ancient Greek Theater, <em>Wealth of the Ancient World</em>, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, (25 June-18 September 1983); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, (19 October-11 December 1983); Detroit Institute of Arts, (1 February-24 March 1984); and Dallas Museum of Art, (25 April-10 June 1984).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 102D Pre-Roman
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