Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

Description

This small mixing vessel shows a finely dressed woman seated on a chest and holding up a mirror to admire herself. Before her stands Eros, the winged god of love, holding a ribbon or sash. Behind the woman stands a pillar with the inscription ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ, or APHRODITE, the goddess of love. Such labels are rare on vases, and scholars debate whether this names the woman shown as Aphrodite herself, with her son Eros, or a bride envisioning herself as Aphrodite, just before her wedding.

Provenance

Ludwig Pollak, Rome, Italy, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-1924); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1924-)

Red-Figure Bell Krater (Mixing Vessel): Aphrodite and Eros

Graz Painter

c. 370–360 BCE

Accession Number

1924.534

Medium

ceramic

Dimensions

Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)

Classification

Ceramic

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of J. H. Wade