Handle Formed as the Figure of a Tritoness over a Triton Mask
late 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.
The handle once adorned a small vessel, perhaps an ornate jug. The lower attachment plate is a relief mask of a triton or "marine Medusa". Above the mask is the figure of a tritoness in the round, with a single fishtail springing from foliage at the waist and curving back under her left arm. In her right hand is a ship's stern ornament, an aphlaston. Silver inlays detail the triton's face fins, the eyes, and the disk of the aphlaston.
Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)