Object Description
Small ceramic bowl decorated with a raised scene of the seated twelve main Greek gods. The rim and foot of the bowl are completely smooth and the entire vessel is in a red clay color. To start, in the scene, we have the god Zeus. He can be determined by the inscription to the left of his head. He is in a seated pose, slightly leaning back. His right hand is brought up behind his head and bends upward, gripping a lightning bolt. His left hand is extended forward, also bent and holding onto a staff. Physically he is shown as a mature man, by the fact that he has a fully-grown beard and longer hair. He is shown as muscular with deep etching into the clay to define each muscle. He is wearing a long draped fabric that does not cover his chest. His legs are spread farther apart and open. Standing to his right is an eagle, also showing that this is the god Zeus. The eagle stands up to his hip and is hidden slightly behind him, his tail feathers are not shown. He is also looking in a slight upward glance. Standing to the right of Zeus is the god Apollo, who, like Zeus, is formally named by an inscription with his name to the left of his head. He is in a standing position: hips and chest facing forward, but head and feet facing the left. Both arms are slightly bent and he is holding a lyre which is positioned at his left hip. He has a single sheet of fabric that is draped over his left shoulder, around his back, and over his right bent arm. He is shown as a younger male with no facial hair and short curly hair. He is also shown as very muscular with incuts to define each muscle. To Apollo's right is the god Poseidon, named by inscription. He is shown riding a dolphin, which is also riding in the waves below it. Unlike the two previous gods Poseidon is facing the right, only his chest is facing the center. His right arm is stretched outward and bent at the elbow and his hand is gripping a triton. His left arm is held down and bent in at the elbow and his arm is held open with nothing inside. He is shown as a mature man with a long beard and longer hair. He has fabric draped around his waist, flowing down to his mid-thigh, but his chest is exposed. He like the others have cuts in the clay to define the muscles. More in the sequence of gods, next to the right is the god Ares. He is shown seated on his round shield. The shield itself has two smaller circles within it and the border of it is decorated with small dots. Ares is shown sitting upright with arms down, bent at the elbows, and resting on his thighs. His legs are also bent, with his left leg bent slightly farther back than the right (his left shin is hidden behind the right). He also has just a simple sheet of fabric draped around his waist, not covering his chest or much of his legs. Unlike the other gods, Ares is shown much more muscled with heavier cuts to add even more definition. He is also shown as a younger male with no facial hair. To the right of Ares is the god Hephaestus, also named. He is facing the right and is in a kneeling position over a harth doing some form of blacksmithing. In his right hand, which is bent and in an upward direction he is holding a hammer and in his left, which is bent slightly forward, he is holding tongs. He had fabric wrapped around his waist, which also drapes down to mid-thigh on his left leg, but completely covers the shown part of his right. He is not shown with a beard but does have long hair. To the right, there is the god Hermes, named to the right of his head. His head and legs are facing the right but his chest and hip are centered. He is wearing talarias and is floating above the ground. In his left hand he is carrying a caduceus and it is positioned right in front of his genitalia. He has nothing but a cape on that appears as though it is blowing back behind him. He has a winged helmet on so no hair is seen. Next to him at the right is the goddess Artemis, there is no name to her, but for the fact that she is shown as a female in men's clothing it is safe to assume this is the only god that would fit the description. She is shown standing with a slight lean backward, and her left arm raised up and bent backward and her right arm is not able to be seen. She is wearing a short male toga and has a much thinner waist and large chest than any other of the characters. The right of Artemis is the goddess Hestia, who like most others has her name to the left. She is shown in full peplos. She is standing upright and looking to the right. Both arms are bent upward, the hand lies at shoulder height and in her right hand it a bowl. She has long wavy hair that falls just about shoulder length. Next to her is another goddess, Demeter. She is facing the left, knees slightly bent, as well has her arms, which are pointing upwards. In her left hand, she is holding a strand of wheat. Her right hand is bent up to her head and holding onto a basket that is placed on her head. The next goddess in life is Aphrodite. She is shown topless and has fabric draped across her hips that also flows down to the floor her left arm is bent upwards and holding an apple in her hand and her left arm is bent downwards embracing her son Eros, the naked winged baby. Next to the two of them is the goddess Athena who is wearing a chiton plus what looks like armor due to the swirl marks on her chest. She has a helmet on and carries a spear in her left hand, in the right holding a winged figurine. Lastly, there is the figure of Hera, seated on the left side of Zeus. Like Zeus, she is holding a staff, hers on her right. She also has a bowl in her lap that she is holding with her left. She is wearing the chiton, which has no sleeves but is full length to the floor. Her hair is up in a bun, but the waves of it are still present. On the very bottom of the bowl is an inscription saying "Made in Greece" and there is also an image that looks like the side profile of a bowl with the initials "MN" in it.
Origin
Found among Jane Sarlas estate, donated by Chris Sarlas. This was a souvenir brough over from Greece. Due to the inscription on the bottom of the bowl saying "Made in Greece" it is clear that this is not an ancient artifact but a modern creation made to apperar older than it is. The wash and images shown on the bowl show that this was made with influence from the ancients.
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