The smooth, vertical handle’s lower attachment plate is decorated with a winged siren surmounting a palmette, with open-work volutes stretching from the palmette to the up- raised wings. The upper plate composed of a plain oval. Small dents to the edges of the attachment plates, a loss to
one volute above the palmette.
A hydria was a vase used for carrying water. The two lateral handles were used to lift the vessel, and the single vertical handle was for pouring. In antiquity it was considered barbaric to drink wine neat, and so water was poured from a hydria into a krater, where it was mixed with wine (and sometimes added herbs or spices), before being served.
Sirens, were mythological creatures that took the form of a female head on the body of a bird. They were figures through which the Greeks explored the notions of knowledge, persuasion, death, and self-control. The avian aspect of the siren emphasized its connection to song, voice, and the soul. As a whole, they embodied speech without ethical restraint; their song persuading without argument, bypassing all reason. The image of the siren, therefore, worked as a kind of mythological warning about persuasive speech that is not grounded in truth or responsibility to the community. It captured the fear that words could overpower people and lead them astray, instead of helping them understand.
Provenance
Humfry Payne (1902-1936), UK
Dilys Powell C.B.E, (1901-1995), UK; London, UK; by descent from the above, her husband.
Sotheby’s, London, UK, Antiquities, 10th-11th December 1992, lot 238
R.S.L. collection, London, UK; likely acquired from the above
Accompanied by letters from the relevant Greek and Italian authorities renouncing any current or future claim over this piece.
Humfry Payne was considered the most outstanding Classical Archaeologist of his generation. He was Director of the British School of Archaeology, Athens, from 1929 until his tragic early death.
Dilys Powell was a formidable film critic writing for The Sunday Times for more than 50 years. She was also part of the group who helped found and establish independent commercial television in the UK.
Literature
M. Comstock and C.C. Vermeule, Greek, Etruscan & Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Boston, 1971), cat.no.419, p.293
For the attachment plate see D.G. Mitten and S.F. Doeringer, eds, Master Bronzes from the Classical World (Cambridge, 1967), no.108, pp.108-109 and for the smooth handle see ibid., no.109
