Asset number
1261838001
Description
Pottery: red-figured calyx-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water). Designs red on black ground, with white accessories. Large style, bordering on the grotesque; faces to front, elaborate costumes, and dramatic action. Above the designs, laurel-wreath and egg-moulding; below each, egg-moulding and palmette-patterns. (a) Dolon surprised by Odysseus and Diomedes: In the centre is Dolon moving to left, crouching in an attitude of surprise, and looking round; he has a moustache and whiskers, skin helmet, short girt chiton over which is a spotted skin tied in front, and quiver with wave-pattern slung at left side. His endromides are of skin with tops turned over, laced in front and fastened by a broad strap under the instep, leaving the toes and heel bare. In left hand he holds up his bow, in right he holds a spear which he endeavours to aim at Diomedes; the spear-head has a serrated edge. On either side, of him is a tree-trunk; on the left appears Odysseus, on the right Diomedes. Odysseus is bearded, and wears pilos, endromides of skin laced up in front, and chlamys with stripes and crenelle borders, and spots on the breast denoting fur (?), fastened with a fibula in front; he holds a short drawn sword in right hand, and his left hand is enveloped in a mantle and raised towards Dolon's right shoulder. Diomedes seizes Dolon with right hand; he is bearded, and wears high-crested helmet (geison and cheek-pieces, crest supported on figure of crouching wolf), endromides as Odysseus, chlamys with stripes and crenelle borders, fastened with a fibula in front and floating behind; in left hand two spears. The scene is closed in by a tree-trunk on either side. (b) Two groups: (1) Female figure to right, with short curly hair, necklace, long chiton, and bordered himation over left shoulder, holds out a wreath in right hand to a nude youth facing her, who holds out his right hand. (2) Female figure with hair in a knot, fillet wound round head, necklace, long girt chiton and apoptygma, holds out a wreath in right hand and an embroidered taenia in left to a youth wrapped in a himation. All four figures wear sandals.
© The Trustees of the British Museum
Using this image
Commercial use
To license images for charged-for journals and publications, and other commercial uses, please contact British Museum Images.
Contact BM images
Non-commercial use
You are permitted to use images from the British Museum website subject to our terms of use.
The image will be released to you under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons here.
Download this image
New photography
If you cannot see an image that you want on the British Museum website, you can order new photography from us.
Order new image