Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"

Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"

Enea Vico

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Antique ewer with a handle in the shape of two snakes coming from the head of Medusa below. The body of the ewer is divided in three friezes. The upper frieze contains masks, while the bulbous middle frieze shows a scene with a battle between sea gods. The lower part of the body is decorated with elongated terminal figures, connected by pieces of drapery. From a series of vase designs after the Antique, first published by Enea Vico in 1543, and later included in a composite series with other designs by Agostino Veneziano by Antonio Lafreri dated circa 1573 based on its presence in Lafreri’s catalogue.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"Antique Ewer with a Handle in the Shape of Two Snakes coming from the Head of Medusa below, from "Vases after the Antique"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.