Harvard Art Museums > 1925.30.88: Donkey Carrying Jar Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Donkey Carrying Jar , 1925.30.88,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/291680. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1925.30.88 Title Donkey Carrying Jar Other Titles Former Title: Mule Carrying Jar Classification Sculpture Work Type statuette, sculpture Date early 4th century BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Corinth (Corinthia) Period Hellenistic period Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/291680 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta, traces of paint Dimensions 8.8 x 9.9 cm (3 7/16 x 3 7/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Joseph C. Hoppin, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1925. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Joseph C. Hoppin Accession Year 1925 Object Number 1925.30.88 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Standing with four legs spread apart. Long face and ears. Large round jar placed on back. Lump of clay between raised tail and jar. Very lively representation. Traces of red pigment and remains of white slip. Commentary This terracotta figurine of a donkey carries a jar and a round object (perhaps a wheel of cheese) on its back. Similar figurines of donkeys (and/or mules), such as those in the collection of the British Museum, carry food: fish, cheese, garlic—even a man sitting on several wheels of cheese. Many such figurines of donkeys and/or mules carrying things, especially foodstuffs or riders (humans and occasionally monkeys), were likely made at Corinth (based on their clay), though similar figurines are attested elsewhere. In the ancient Mediterranean, donkeys and mules worked as draft animals (pulling carts and transporting goods) as well as in farming and industrial activities, such as powering mills. Mules were also used briefly in chariot races during the Olympic Games from 500 BCE to 444 BCE. Like today, donkeys (and to a lesser degree, mules, which are a cross between a donkey and a horse) were seen in antiquity as difficult and lowly, though they filled important economic and cultural roles. Are these figurines depictions of “daily life”? Or were they used as offerings in tombs and sanctuaries? Terracotta figurines were multifunctional—likely used for all these purposes. Publication History George M. A. Hanfmann, Greek Art and Life, An Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 157. Exhibition History Greek Art and Life: From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Private Lenders, Fogg Art Museum, 03/07/1950 - 04/15/1950 A World Within Reach: Greek and Roman Art from the Loeb Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023 Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
