Detail of a Hydria by the Gallatin Painter in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

Water jar (hydria)
Greek, Late Archaic Period, about 490 B.C.
the Gallatin Painter

Place of Manufacture: Athens, Attica, Greece

Dimensions: Height: 41.7 cm (16 7/16 in.); diameter: 27 cm (10 5/8 in.)

Medium or Technique: Ceramic, Red Figure

Classification: Vessels

Catalogue Raisonné: Caskey-Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings (MFA), no. 069.

Accession Number: 13.200

This hydria is decorated in two areas: the main panel on the body of the vessel, and a smaller panel on the shoulder.

Main panel: A carpenter, wearing a short tunic pulled down to his waist, is drilling a hole in the lid of a large chest. On the right, a nursemaid is holding the baby Perseus. On the left, a balding, long haired, bearded man (Akrisios, the father of Danae) is leaning on a staff and gesturing to the others. Danae, wearing an elaborate hairstyle with ribbons and an elegant dress (chiton) and cloak (himation) stands behind the chest, gesturing in protest of her fate.

On shoulder: Three youths baiting a bull. The one on the left has a cloak draped over his shoulder like a toreador, and aims a spear at the beast. The second boy from the left (the hero Theseus?) engages directly with the bull, as if in a boxing match. The bull lowers his head. The boy on the right also wears a cloak over one arm and holds a spear. He sits, as if ready to jump up for action.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/water-jar-hydria-153636