Art Institute of Chicago

Column-Krater (Mixing Bowl)

Attributed to a Member of the Earlier Mannerist GroupLinkedCulture matchlcp-cfa16da61e39

Date: about 460 BCE
Medium: terracotta, red-figure
Culture: Athens
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 164

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

The Greeks diluted their wine by blending it with water. The master of ceremonies at the symposium, or drinking party for men, determined the ratio of wine to water, both of which were poured into a large mixing bowl, like this one. This particular shape is called a column krater after its columnar handles. It is decorated with a mythological scene. Salmoneus, king of Elis, pretended to be Zeus by imitating the sound of thunder and the appearance of lightning. Angered at his impudence, here Zeus strikes Salmoneus dead with a real lightning bolt.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson
Provenance: Said to be found in Nola [Old Register at the Art Institute of Chicago]. Augusto Mele, Naples, Italy, by 1889; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago through J.C. Fletcher as agent, 1889; price reimbursed by Charles Hutchinson and Philip D. Armour, 1889.