198 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. VII. 



The handle terminates above in a conventionalized lotus, of which 

 the side-petals have the form of volutes, while the middle petal is a 

 thick recurved leaf which serves as a thumb-rest. The upper side 

 of the volutes is ornamented with a rosette consisting of a large central 

 dot surrounded by eight smaller dots. 1 The spaces between volutes 

 and lip are filled in by means of a bird's head with long beak. At 

 the base of the lotus there is a single horizontal row of beading, which 

 serves to separate the upper part of the handle from the ornaments 

 on the back. 



The lower attachment of the handle is a plaque of ovate outline, 

 ornamented with a relief-mask of Medusa. Her features are coldly 

 beautiful, with large staring eyes. The iris is indicated by an engraved 

 circle, the pupil by a tiny indentation. From the crown of the head 

 rise wings, while beneath them long snaky tresses extend to both 

 sides. A portion of heavy serpent body is conspicuous above the 

 forehead at either side, an exaggeration of an effect which may be 

 seen already in the Medusa Rondanini. 2 



The back of the handle appears to part just above the top of the 

 plaque to form the spreading side-petals of a lotus flower. The space 

 between the petals is filled with an elongated heart-shaped ornament, 

 for which there is an analogy on an Attic grave stele published by 

 Conze, 3 and on the early Ionic capital from Neandria. 4 



The principal decoration of the back of the handle is in the upper 

 part just beneath the transverse band. Here there is a narrow ledge 

 on which stands, at the left, a round altar with flame, 5 and near by, 

 at the right, an object which has fluted sides and conical top, and is 

 represented as about a third again as high as the altar. Like the 

 altar, it has a molded base and cornice. The oxidation which covers 

 the roof is perforated so that the latter resembles a pyramid of balls. 

 On the whole the object looks rather like a building as, for example, 

 a small round temple or shrine, but the lack of door or- window is a 

 difficulty. On the handle of a pitcher from Bazzano there is a small 

 shrine with similar roof. 6 



In the free space between the above mentioned ledge and the 

 top of the lower attachment there is a thyrsus with a large ribbon 

 tied to the shaft. 7 



1 Cf. silver Centaur vase from Pompeii, Zahn, Die srhoensten Ornamente, etc., Vol. iii, plate 28. 



2 Friederichs-Wolters, GipsabgUsse antiker Bildwerke, No. 1597. Cf. Roscher, Lexikon d. Myth. 

 I, 2, p. 1723. For a closer analogy cf. Reinach. Ant. du Bosph. cimmerien, plate 75, No. 7 (terra-cotta 

 mask) . 



' Die attischen Grabreliefs, Vol. i. No. 453, plate 107. 



' Perrot and Chipiez, Hisloire de Vart, Vol. vii, p. 621, fig. 275. 



* Cf. Schreiber, Alexand. Toreutik, p. 321, No. 13, 13). 



• "Aedicula mit kuppelartigem Dach," Schreiber, A lexand. Toreutik, p. 356, No. 105, a; cf. p. 453. 

 7 Cf. the thyrsus on a silver cup from Hildesheim, Pernice and Winter, Hildesheimer Silbetfund, 



plate 14, No. 1, and on the handle of a silver casserole, Schreiber, Alexand. Toreutik, p. 315, No. 

 1 , ft) . A thyrsus represented in a mosaic of the Casa del Fauno, Pompeii, has a green shaft with red rib- 

 bon, and a yellow cone with green leaves (Nicolini, Case e Monumenti, Vol. i). 



