Getty Museum

Handle with Pan Heads

Date

25 B.C.–A.D. 25

Medium

Bronze with silver

Culture

Roman

Department

Vessels

Institution

Getty Museum

Two images of the rustic goat-god Pan decorate the ends of this Roman bronze handle. Small horns sprout from the young god's forehead, and the swirling locks of hair suggest his wild nature. A goatskin with its cloven hooves knotted under the god's chin serves as a backdrop for each head and originally attached the handle to the vessel. The handle resembles a bent plant stem terminating in flowers and embellished with a fillet at the top. The whites of Pan's eyes, the horns, and the goat glands under his chin were highlighted with silver, although little now survives. All that remains of a once elaborate vase, this handle probably came from a calyx krater, a large vessel used to serve wine. Such krater handles were often decorated with heads of bearded silenoi, but Pan, another follower of Dionysos, the god of wine, was also a suitable motif.

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