- Museum number
- 1846,0925.3
- Description
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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.
- Production date
- 390BC-380BC (circa)
- Dimensions
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Diameter: 48.26 centimetres
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Height: 50.80 centimetres
- Curator's comments
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See Trendell 1967, 1, p. 102, 533, pl. 52.3-4; also Trendell 1983, p. 59, D 21. Also Denoyelle 2020.
Bibliography:
Denoyelle, M. 2020, 'Le chasseur chassé? Un autre visage de Dolon sur le cratère métapontin du British Museum', Céramique Italiote en Accès Ouvert (CIAO). Actualité des recherches sur la céramique italiote, 27/07/2020, https://ciao.hypotheses.org/999.
Trendall, A.D. 1967, The Red-figured Vases of Lucania, Campania and Sicily (Oxford).
Trendall, A.D. 1983, The Red-figured Vases of Lucania, Campania and Sicily. Third Supplement. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement 41 (London).
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BM Cat. Vases
Bull. Arch. Nap. 1843, i. pl. 7; Overback, Her. Bildw. pl. xvii. 4, p. 415; Baumeister, p. 459; Ann. dell’Inst. 1875, p. 310; Klein, Euphronios2, p. 144; J.H.S. xi. p. 228.
The form of Dolon's endromides is apparently a local characteristic, cf. BM Vases F107 and F179.
There are similar figures to those on side a on a terra-cotta vase in the Liverpool Museum (Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Gt. Britain, p. 427) cf. also the vase by Euphronios, Arch. Zeit. 1882, p. 47.
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Dismantled, cleaned and repaired June 1966.
- Location
- On display (G73/dc66)
- Acquisition date
- 1846
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1846,0925.3
