Dionysus’ roles as god of wine and of theatre are linked here in the papposilenus mask that decorates this jug used in drinking parties.
Papposilenus was an aged follower of Dionysus who found wisdom and had visions when drinking wine. He developed a philosophy that, because a human life will contain pain and suffering, it is better not to have been born at all.
This is the only known example of a painted relief of a papposilenus mask on this type of vase. It is decorated with colour over a black slip and is called Gnathian, after the town of Egnazia on the eastern coast of Apulia where the vases were first discovered.
