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| Greek bronze Hydria 3rd century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek terracotta Hydria ca. 440-420 BC British Museum |
Ancient Greek water vessels called hydria were common household objects when made of terracotta. For ceremonial or other special purposes the same shape would be expensively produced in bronze. The Bolognese/Roman artist called Guercino (1591-1666) painted a similar bronze vessel in his rendering of Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (below). Attracted by the object's form and surface finish, Guercino could also exploit its presence for period authenticity. Scholars tell us, all the same, that water jars carried for everyday purposes to wells would almost certainly not have been made of bronze, but of clay.
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| Guercino Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well 1640-41 Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Greek bronze Hydria c. 375-350 BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria early 4th century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria 4th century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria early 4th century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria late 7th-early 6th century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria mid-4th century BC Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Greek bronze Hydria ca. 340-350 BC Getty |
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| Greek bronze Hydria 350-300 BC British Museum |
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| Greek bronze Hydria ca. 460 BC Getty |