Marble Fragment of a Volute Krater in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2010

Marble fragment of a volute krater
1st–2nd century A.D.

Roman


Object Details

Title: Marble fragment of a volute krater

Period: Imperial

Date: 1st–2nd century A.D.

Culture: Roman

Medium: Marble

Dimensions: H. 11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm)

Classification: Stone Sculpture

Credit Line: Purchase, David L. Klein Jr. Memorial Foundation Inc. and Nicholas S. Zoullas Gifts, 1997

Accession Number: 1997.111


Large marble vases carved with figured reliefs are among the most spectacular objects produced in workshops that specialized in classicizing works for a sophisticated Roman clientele. This fragment includes one handle and part of the neck and shoulder of a volute krater that once must have decorated a Roman garden. A large mask of a bearded Dionysus adorns the base of the handle, while grape leaves carved in low relief spread out behind it.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256854