TheSosibios Vase is aNeo-Attic marblekrater of theHellenistic period.[1] It is attributed by signature to Sosibios, aGreek sculptor who was active in Rome during the end of theRoman Republic, and is dated to approximately 50 BCE. It is Sosibios' only known work.[1]
The krater, which stands at 78 cm. in height, is a marble adaptation of a type of metal vessel known from the late fifth century BCE (e.g. TheDerveni Krater).[1] It is decorated with a relief depictingArtemis andHermes standing by an altar and presiding over a Bacchic procession of severalmaenads.[1] Hermes is wearing achlamys and bearing thecaduceus. Artemis appears in her role as the huntress with a quiver on her back, a bow in her right hand, and a deer hoof in her left.[1] The maenads are shown dancing to music, and are accompanied by a dancingsatyr, and an armed warrior andApollo, playing thecithara.[1]
The artist's signature, reading "by Sosibios the Athenian," is engraved on the plinth of the altar.[2]
The vase was part of the royal collection ofLouis XIV from 1692, but entered theLouvre in 1797 after becoming confiscated property under theRevolution.[1] It is presently still housed in the Louvre.
The English poet John Keats traced an engraving of the Sosibios Vase after seeing it in Henry Moses'sA Collection of Antique Vases, Altars, Paterae.[3] His 1819 poemOde on a Grecian Urn is presumed to have been partially inspired by this work.[4]