hydria
- Museum number
- 1864,1007.112
- Description
-
Pottery: red-figured hydria.
Toilet scene. In a chair in centre a woman sits to right, holding in both hands a wreath; she wears a sleeved chiton and himation around lower limbs, and her hair is looped up and tied with a radiated fillet wound thrice round. On right stands an attendant (?) in chiton with apoptygma tied, holding up on right a square box: she has short bushy hair on which rays are painted; she stands to front, but looks towards left. On each side of this group a woman stands looking on, holding up a flower; and on extreme left a third stands, holding up her right. All these an dressed like the seated woman; the two outside figures, however, have a plan fillet wound several times round the hair. On each side of the seated figure stands a calathos full of wool. Over her hangs a taenia festooned; and on left a woollen fillet.
Graceful style. Purple rays, wreath, fillets and wool; some details brown; sketch marks. The figures of the two outside women are interrupted by a rectangular space within the handles which is left red, and bordered with a thin brown line. Below, strip formed by sets of three maeanders broken by dotted crosses. Round neck, strip of palmette and lotus ornament; round lip and junction of handles with body, egg pattern.
- Production date
- 440BC-430BC
- Dimensions
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Height: 36.83 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
BM Cat. Vases
The folds of drapery on the breast of the central figure are drawn as on the Meidias vase, BM Vase Ε224.
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Attributed to Fikellura grave 199, based on evidence from Biliotti's Kamiros diary, Kamiros tomb list, British Museum register, departmental Kamiros index card. Description in Biliotti's Kamiros diary: Calpis large red figures on black ground (1 broken). No marking of grave number visible on the object itself.
Attributions to find-spots are based on (1) Alfred Biliotti’s diary kept during excavations at Kamiros between November 1863 and June 1864, which records the contents of two votive deposits and over 300 graves; (2) entries in the Museum Register, often stipulating the find-spots of individual objects excavated by Biliotti; (3) the Kamiros tomb list, produced around the same time as his entries in the Museum Register. It lists the contents of each grave and votive deposit, along with their corresponding registration numbers; (4) the Kamiros index cards, written by Donald Bailey in the 1960’s. These mainly record the contents of graves from the Fikellura cemetery and are organised according to tomb group. All archives are kept in the Department of Greece and Rome. In addition, Reynold Higgins’ Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1954) has been checked for attributions to the Fikellura cemetery.
- Location
- On display (G20a/dc25)
- Condition
- Much broken, but design not greatly injured.
- Acquisition date
- 1864
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1864,1007.112