Terracotta jug

Terracotta jug

Description:

In this extraordinary evocative depiction, a woman faces off a horned serpent whose head looks vaguely like that of a ram. The protagonists appear well matched. In many cultures the line between human beings and animals, real or mythological, is permeable. The representation may be associated with an animal fable. Even more, it recalls the dialogue between Eve and the serpent in the Book of Genesis.


H. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm)

Period:

Archaic I

Date:

750 - 600 BC

Collection:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance:

References:

Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 763, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 156, p. 95, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Accession Number:

74.51.531