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Water jar (hydria) with myth of Danae and Perseus
Greek
Classical Period
about 450–440 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions
40.6 cm (16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1900
Accession Number03.792
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
DescriptionThe scene on this vase shows a later moment in the myth of Danaë and Perseus. Having been warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him, Akrisios locked Danaë and her young son in a chest and set it afloat. Danaë and Perseus sit in the open chest while Akrisios, a young girl and a maidservant bid farewell.
ProvenanceBy 1903: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Bought in Rome; said from Cumae.); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, March 24, 1903