Pitcher c. 1937

Max Soltmann rendered this pitcher—with what I suspect is watercolor—an object adorned with symbols stretching back to antiquity. Observe the grapevines, classical motifs linked to Dionysus, god of wine, ecstasy, and theatre. These symbols are also found in early Christian art, repurposed to represent the blood of Christ, a potent example of cultural appropriation. See how it has evolved over time, a testament to the human desire to imbue the everyday with layers of meaning. The hunting scene around the pitcher’s belly, a stag pursued by hounds, harkens back to the myth of Actaeon, a hunter transformed into a stag and devoured by his own dogs. This reflects primal anxieties about the hunter becoming the hunted, a motif that recurs across cultures, tapping into our subconscious fears. Notice the handle, formed by a dog, loyal and watchful. These symbols carry echoes of our past. They remind us that images do not exist in isolation, but in a constant state of metamorphosis, perpetually reborn in new contexts.