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Water jar (kalpis-hydria) with Danaë receiving Zeus

Greek
Classical Period
about 430-420 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens

Medium/Technique Ceramic, Red Figure technique
Credit Line Otis Norcross Fund
Accession Number68.18
ClassificationsVessels

DescriptionDanaë, seated on a pillowed couch, receives Zeus in the form of a golden rain in the folds of her himation. Her feet rest on a footstool. At left, a female attendant gestures in surprise, while the god Hermes, wearing a chlamys and winged helmet and holding a kerykeion, shrinks back in amazement. A mirror hangs in the background. Below, meander as groundline. Above, frieze of palmettes and flower buds.
ProvenanceBy 1968, Robert E. Hecht, Jr.; 1968, sold by Robert E. Hecht, Jr., to the MFA. (Accession date: February 7, 1968)