---
title: Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria
author: The Trustees of The British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12884/acrobat-dancer-on-a-hydria/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria

_Authored by The Trustees of The British Museum_

## Image File

[![Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/12884.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/12884.jpg)

## Image Caption

A red-figure hydria (water-jar) made and found in Campania, [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/), from c. 325-350 BCE, attributed to The Foundling Painter. A dancing girl (orchestris) stands on her hands in an acrobatic act, which can be a somersault or a walk on hands. She is between a stool and a potter’s turntable, both of which could be used for performing amazing acrobatic acts. The hand-drums (tympana) and the decorative band of beads suggest that her performance takes place in a party. In ancient [Greece](https://www.worldhistory.org/greece/), troupes of entertainers could be hired to entertain the guests at a [symposium](https://www.worldhistory.org/Symposium/) (drinking-party).

## External Links

- [British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1814-0704-566)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Museum, T. T. o. T. B. (2020, October 15). Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12884/acrobat-dancer-on-a-hydria/>
### Chicago
Museum, The Trustees of The British. "Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria." *World History Encyclopedia*, October 15, 2020. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12884/acrobat-dancer-on-a-hydria/>.
### MLA
Museum, The Trustees of The British. "Acrobat-dancer on a Hydria." *World History Encyclopedia*, 15 Oct 2020, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/12884/acrobat-dancer-on-a-hydria/>.

## License & Copyright

The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons [here](https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/copyright_and_permissions.aspx). [Original image](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1814-0704-566) by [**The Trustees of The British Museum**](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1814-0704-566). Submitted by [Nathalie Choubineh](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/nathalie.choubineh/ "User Page: Nathalie Choubineh"), published on 15 October 2020. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.