Sotades

Sotades, Bowl foot in the shape of a frog, clay, hand-modeled, clay, Total: Height: 3.8 cm; Width: 7.7 cm; Depth: 7.2 cm, ceramic, frog, Strict style, The squatting frog once served - probably with two conspecifics - as the foot of an Attic bowl, as remains of black varnish on a slightly curved surface on the back show. The wide mouth, the plastic-half-spherical eyes and two short blunt horns are distinctive. The potter Sotades and his workshop were known at their time in Athens and far beyond for their imaginative, sometimes humorous figurative vases. Sotades loved unusual subjects: riding amazons, a group of pygmy cranes, a crocodile devouring an African, a cicada inside a bowl or a camel. His buyers or clients were scattered almost all over the ancient world. Especially the wishes of his Egyptian customers are obviously referred to by numerous motives. (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)