Archaeology & Antiquities
Black-Figure Trefoil Oinochoe (Wine Jug): Europa on Bull
CeramicsMythology & AllegoryVessel
Details
- Author / creator
- Class of Vatican 440 (Greek, Attic)
- Object type
- Archaeology
- Date or period
- c. 530 BCE
- Dimensions summary
- Overall: 23.6 cm
- Site or findspot
- Attica, Greece
- Cultural period
- Ancient
- Place of origin
- Greek
- Acquisition method
- Purchase
- Credit line
- Purchased with the Art Fund grant and Friends of the Ashcombe Museum, 1929
- Image rights
- Public domain (CC0)
About this object
Calmly seated sidesaddle on a bull, the woman depicted on the front of this small wine jug probably represents Europa, the Phoenician princess abducted by the Greek god Zeus. According to myth, Zeus either sent a bull or transformed himself into one, then carried Europa across the sea to Crete. There, she bore Zeus two or three sons, including the legendary king Minos. The bull ascended to the sky as the constellation Taurus.
Materials and technique
Ceramic
