East Dorian situla
- Gallery: Room 13
- Culture: East Dorian; Archaic Greek
- Made in: Rhodes (?)
- Date: 575BC-550BC
- Object type: situla
- Materials: pottery
- Museum number: 1888,0208.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is the "East Dorian situla," a beautifully painted pottery vessel made in the Archaic Greek period, around 575–550 BC. Crafted in Rhodes or possibly another East Dorian region, this is a black-figure painted situla with rich decorative panels that reflect careful artistic technique.
The central panel shows a winged male figure, likely representing a mythical being such as Typhon or possibly a youthful image related to Apollo. This figure is flanked by ornate squares filled with patterns of rosettes, dots, and diaper designs. A smaller panel to the right shows a scene of a bird attacking a hare, evoking themes of hunting and myth.
The painter’s use of purple and carefully incised lines adds depth to the black-figure decoration. The situla’s design mixes traditional geometric motifs with lively, naturalistic details, making it a striking example of early Greek pottery artistry.
See it in person
East Dorian situla is on display in Room 13 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
