Advanced Search 
Handle probably from a large open bowl (stamnos)
Italic, Etruscan
Archaic or Classical Period
about 5th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Bronze
Dimensions
Height x width: 13 x 14 cm (5 1/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
William E. Nickerson Fund, No. 2
Accession Number64.280
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Greek, Etruscan, & Roman Bronzes (MFA), no. 508; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 125 (additional published references).
DescriptionHorizontal U-shaped handle ending in two attachment plaques in the form of lanceolate leaves. The horizontal bar of the handle is rounded on the inside, with a series of grooves on the outside. The leaf plaques are decorated with Silenus masks below pairs of volute-scrolls with half-palmettes, all bordered in an ivy-wreath motif. The Sileni has hair and long beard rendered with parallel lines, pointed ears and snub nose. Deep green patina, with light areas.
ProvenanceBy 1964: with Robert E. Hecht, Jr.; purchased by MFA from Robert E. Hecht, Jr., March 11, 1964