Apulian picture vases for a funeral (Antikensammlung Berlin)
The found complex of a group of antique Apulian picture vases for a funeral ceremony consists of 29 vases, plates, vase fragments and groups of fragments that represent showpieces from the Berlin Collection of Antiquities in the Altes Museum . The vase ensemble consists of in some cases larger than average and valuable vases, which are richly decorated with images of the " rich style " of Apulian vase painting . There are also vases of medium and low quality. All pieces probably come from a robbery excavation in the second half of the 20th century.
Find history and find composition
The exact circumstances of the find are unknown. The pieces were acquired in 1984 by the Berlin Antikensammlung through the mediation of the antiques dealer Christoph Leon , allegedly from the property of a Basel family. According to the art dealer, the vases were bought in Naples by an unknown traveler from Geneva in the late 19th century . In the meantime, however, it has been proven that the vases were only found during illegal robbery excavations in Apulia in the second half of the 20th century and that they came onto the art market in Geneva through the dealer Giacomo Medici . In 1984 the museum did not acquire the entire find, as apparently not the entire ensemble was offered. This could be made up in 1991, when fragments were acquired from which several plates could be reconstructed and clues for other dishes to be included in the complex were obtained.
Through stylistic research, the clay vases could be classified as Apulian production. Since such vases were rarely exported beyond Apulia, a location in Naples or the surrounding area can be practically ruled out. All vases are made around 340 BC. Dated and assigned to a certain vase manufacturer from Tarento . The painting of many of the vases - eight of 20 pieces have grave motifs such as Naiskoi on the front or back - suggests that they were part of a grave decoration. The fact that most of the vases can be assigned to each other in pairs, apart from a few individual pieces, where the counterparts have probably been lost or sold in other collections, speaks in favor of their combination for a representative occasion. Such an occasion was given at Apulian funeral celebrations, in the context of which a striving for symmetrical grave decoration was nothing unusual.
Today, after the restoration, the find consists of seven very large volute craters , two amphorae , two skyphoi , a hydria , a large plate, nine fish plates plus fragments, four women's head plates plus fragments and several fragments, including the foot of another volute crater and several bowls . All of these vessels had special functions in real life. However, some of the pieces belonging to this find are difficult or impossible to use for their actual purpose. The skyphoi, from which one drank mixed wine, had a capacity of more than ten liters, which excludes normal use. Almost all other large vessels were also unusable, as there was no closure between the body of the vase and the base of the vase, and in some cases there was even no base and the vessels therefore could not hold any liquid. These facts speak in favor of a use in a sacred or sepulcral , that is, in connection with death, context.
Such large, high-quality vases with eye-catching motifs were not intended for use, but were intended to make a special impression at a funeral. The preserved pieces were evidently the outstanding showpieces at a funeral ceremony, but the function of the simple ceramics, which are probably also used as grave goods, is uncertain. Analogies to other grave finds suggest that the grave from which the vases come is a chamber grave, the type of which dates from the beginning of the 4th century BC. Came up.
Unique pieces
Phrixos crater
The so-called Phrixos crater , a volute crater with mask handles, is the third largest single piece at 102 centimeters high. The vessel attributed to the Darius Painter by Arthur Dale Trendall is considered to be one of the artist's best works. The drawings on the vase are extremely carefully executed and very elegant. There is no counterpart, but it is assumed that the individual vase base is a fragment of this counterpart.
The special quality of the crater can already be seen in the neck image. On both sides of two centrally arranged winged creatures one sees a winding, imaginative tendril. At first glance, it appears disorganized and chaotic. However, an analysis shows that the artist gave the plant a fixed structure and did not take into account natural conditions. The tendril depicted by the Dareios painter with its stems growing out of the flowers has no natural model. Above this decoration there is a band of oak leaves, which form a kind of garland and are decorated with a painted egg chain. The eggs are evidently blown out, tied on a ribbon and artistically painted. Here the artist was probably based on a decoration common in Apulia at festivities.
The main image is structured in two levels: an upper divine and a lower human. The main characters of the frieze are all named in writing. In the center is the young Phrixus with his foot propped up . He wreaths a ram, as is customary with sacrificial animals. The altar painted below confirms the interpretation as a sacrificial scene. To the left of Phrixos is his stepmother Ino , to the right his father, King Athamas , with the sacrificial knife drawn. But not the ram, but Phrixus is to be sacrificed because of a false oracle initiated by the stepmother . Further to the right, an aged scholar informs Phrixos' sister Helle , who is also to be sacrificed, about her brother's impending sacrifice, which is reflected in the young woman's horrified demeanor. The last figure on the page is a woman described by the speaking name Euphemia . Euphemia - the one with a good reputation - is not only a name, but also the description of the ritual silence of persons who take part in a sacred act. In the upper frieze a gathering of gods looks down on what is happening among the people. Second person from the left is Nephele , the birth mother of Phrixus and Helle, who moves excitedly, with fear and horror, and yet full of elegance. To her right stands Hermes , who will apparently bring her the message of the upcoming divine salvation of her two children.
What is interesting about the representation is that the painter almost completely dispenses with action scenes and dynamics. Without labels, one could assume a perfectly normal ram sacrifice. Only with knowledge of the Greek saga of Phrixos and Helle are some small details recognizable, such as the sacrificial bandages in the hair of the siblings or Athamas pointing to his wife or the openly shown emotions of Helle and Nephele. It can therefore be assumed that the vase was created for a mythologically educated audience.
The reverse shows the already mentioned temple-like grave structure, which can be seen on most of the vases. The naked young deceased is shown casually leaning on a stick. He is holding a bowl in one hand and a wreath in the other. On both sides of the tomb there are three equally young people. They are festively decorated, but do not mourn. The neck picture shows the deceased a second time. Now he is in an otherworldly world, holding a wine bowl in his hand with which he catches dripping wine from two grapes hanging above him.
Rhesos crater
The Rhesos crater is in many ways similar to the Phrixos crater. It is an 82 centimeter high volute crater with three-wheel handles. He is also attributed to the Darius painter. As with the Phrixos crater, the main characters are marked with inscriptions. The illustrated mythological story of the Thracian king Rhesus is one of the oldest Greek legends and has already been handed down by Homer . The variant of the story reproduced here goes back to a tragedy with the name of the main hero Rhesus , which has been handed down in the canon of the works of Euripides . The focus of the story, which belongs to the Trojan saga , is the murder of Rhesus by Diomedes . He sneaks with Odysseus into the camp of the Thracian king in order to prevent his intervention on the side of the Trojans on the following day, as it was predicted that the Trojans could no longer lose the war if the horses of Rhesus grazed in front of Troy .
In the upper field of the picture you can see Diomedes with a cautiously springy gait and some tension sneaking to the bed of the sleeping king. The goddess Athena stands to the right of the camp and points calmly and calmly to the sleeping Rhesos. Physically turned away from the scene, but looking over her shoulder in the direction of the action, sits the king's mother, one of the muses . In the lower field of the picture you can see Odysseus driving the king's white horses out of the camp. Here, on the right, the father of rhesus, the Thracian river god Strymon , characterized by his attributes as a river god - horns, shells and reeds - limits the scenery.
Persephone crater
The Persephone crater is a volute crater with spiral handles and 86.5 centimeters high. He is attributed to the underworld painter and is the counterpart to the Rhesos crater, even if the drawing style does not quite have the elegance and delicacy of its counterpart. The story shown is an extremely popular motif on Apulian vases, but it has seldom been staged in such detail as here. It is the story of the rape of the vegetation goddess Persephone by the supreme god of the underworld, Hades . The central motif of the lower row of pictures is the robbery itself. Hades drives the desperate Persephone, who stretches out her arm, pleading for help, on his team of four to the underworld. Two other deities attend the event. Persephone cannot expect help from them, however. Hermes, as the guide of the dead into the underworld, knows the ways there best and leads his uncle Hades. Behind the car is the mysterious goddess Hecate , who is holding a torch in her hand. The central eye-catcher in the upper frieze is a team of panthers that a servant of Demeter , Persephone's mother, mounts to pursue. On the right edge stands the mother of the abducted woman, raising one arm in mourning, who sends her servants to pursue. But they have no chance of catching up with Persephone. The painter achieved an interesting effect by having the explanatory inscriptions as well as the fleeing Hades with his female prey move from left to right, but the pursuers from right to left. The viewer is shown the hopelessness of the persecution.
Gigantomachy Crater
The Gigantomachie crater is also a volute crater with mask handles. Its foot was made separately. With a height of 113 centimeters, it is the largest surviving piece of the find complex. It is attributed to the underworld painter. The story of the battle of the gods against the giants , the gigantomachy , which is very popular in Greek art, is told on the vase .
The vase stands out due to a special composition of the representation. The central motif, Zeus, the father of the gods, who drives into battle in a chariot driven by Nike, the goddess of victory , prepares to throw lightning at a giant lying on the ground. To the left of Zeus, his brother Poseidon , Lord of the Seas, rides into battle on the winged horse Pegasus . This is a mythologically appropriate motif - after all, Pegasus is the child of Poseidon and the Gorgon - Medusa - but rarely used. The other fighting couples are iconographically arranged to match each other. Athena, armed with a shield, lance and helmet , fights against an equally equipped giant, Dionysus in panther skin fights a giant also clad in panther skin, Heracles in a lion skin with a giant in a lion skin. The fighting couple to the right of Zeus appear particularly original . Here the goddess of love Aphrodite fights against a young giant. He looks languidly at the goddess holding a palm frond as a sign of victory and kneels before her. Eros uses this moment and ties his hands behind his back. Thus love wins over violence.
Another love ring is shown in the neck picture. Peleus fights with the sea goddess Thetis , who was prophesied that her child would far outstrip her father in power. The person Peleus will win this fight, which is indicated by the winged Eros, which comes flying to crown Peleus as the victor. The victory will bring him the love of the Thetis and from their connection with Achilles the most powerful Greek of the Trojan War will emerge. The fight is flanked by dangerous sea snakes.
Priamid crater
The Priamid Crater is the counterpart of the Gigantomachie Crater and, like this one, has been attributed to the underworld painter. At 107 centimeters high, it is the second largest piece. The interpretation of the scene must be based on the representation due to the lack of inscriptions. In the center of the lower image field you can see a charioteer on his chariot. He is marked by a Phrygian cap as belonging to the oriental culture. To the left of it you can see a farewell scene between a man and a child held in a woman's arms, who reaches for the man. Both the man and the woman look dejected, as if they know what to expect. A second woman, to whom the man's gaze goes, stands further away on the left edge, but is partly lost. The interpretation of the scene is quite simple in the end. The man in the farewell scene is Hector , who, before the duel with Achilles , says goodbye to his wife Andromache and son Astyanax in the arms of his nurse.
The central motif of the upper frieze is Hecabe , who comforts Kassandra . Cassandra is marked as a sacred personality by the laurel branches adorned with ribbons, as she is able to see into the future. But Apollo only gave her the gift on the condition that no one believes her prophecies. So it is not surprising that neither her mother nor her father Priam on their left shares their concern for Hector. In the upper right you can see an eagle flying with a snake in its fangs - another sign of Kassandra's prediction. Only another Trojan horse, a young man - probably Kassandra's twin brother Helenos , who also has the gift of sight - recognizes the sign. The literary source is obvious in this crater. The vase was named Priamid Crater because of the many mythical figures from Priam's family who are depicted here.
The neck image represents another story that has been passed down several times on vases and was apparently popular in Apulia. A bearded warrior kills a horse with his sword. It is Oinomaos , son of the god of war Ares , who was prophesied that he would lose his life through his daughter's bridegroom. Therefore, he challenged all candidates who asked for his daughter's hand to a chariot race for life and death. Since his father had given him horses that were faster than the wind, he was able to defeat many of his daughter's admirers. But one of the candidates resorted to a trick and detached the wheel hub from Oinomaos' car, which then had an accident while racing. The neck image shows the damaged wagon in the background, and the desperate Oinomaos in the foreground, who kills the horses in his fury. From the right comes a winged demon with a torch, which is supposed to symbolize the madness that Oinomaos has now seized. A grave building is depicted on the back of the vase.
More craters
In addition to the craters, which show a mythological story, there are two more volute craters with mask handles, which are considered to belong together and show a grave building on the front and a grave stele on the back. If you place both Naiskos vases opposite, it seems as if the figures are looking at each other.
The slightly larger vase, 84.5 centimeters high, is attributed to the Loebbecke painter . The Grabnaiskos is formed by two columns of Ionic style , which are also highlighted with white paint. In the naiskos there is an old man sitting on a klismos and a standing warrior with a Chalcidian helmet holding a horse by the reins. The figures outside the tomb are poorly preserved because the lines of varnish did not adhere properly. At the top right, sitting on the floor line, a woman is shown who is propping herself up with her right hand and holding a phial in the other hand . Opposite her is an armed youth in a similar pose, lying on a coat and holding a special Lower Italian form of the Chalcidian helmet. At the bottom right a standing woman is shown, opposite her on the left a standing youth. On the reverse, two women and two young men are shown grouped around a grave pillar.
The second volute crater, 76.5 centimeters high, is attributed to the painter from Copenhagen 4223 . The structure of the vase is very similar to the previous one. The reverse shows again two young men and two women who were grouped around a grave pillar. The main picture on the obverse, however, shows a standing young man in the naiskos, leaning against one of the Ionic pillars. With him stands a boy who holds the man's round shield with one hand and an aryballos with the other . The four people grouped around the naiskos roughly correspond to those on the vase by the Loebecke painter. Only here the seated woman is holding a handle mirror and the young man lying opposite her is holding a round shield.
Eleusinian hydria
The Eleusinian hydria, 68 centimeters high, is attributed to the Varrese painter . The story shown is neither explained in writing, nor is it otherwise known in this form from Greek iconography . Thus, the interpretation of the scenes had to be done with the help of the pictures themselves and brought into line with written records.
The painting is divided into three registers. In the uppermost one, on the hydration shoulder, you can see a group of gods looking down at what is happening below them on earth - a form of representation that is quite widespread for Apulian vases. The gods are Pan , Hermes, a very youthful Poseidon, Aphrodite, who can be recognized through the mirror lying next to her, Apollon and Artemis . Below you can see a goddess on a throne in the center, before whom a woman kneels and offers her ears of wheat. This makes naming the goddess Demeter easy. The other six young women on the lowest register of the vase are also characterized by attributes that have to do with Demeter - ears of wheat, flat baskets, as they were used in cult activities -; four of them have round boxes with them, as were customary for the storage of cult objects at the Mysteries of Eleusis . Next to the goddess you can see an aged teacher and a young, curly boy.
The story portrayed, which emerges from the figures, has already been handed down in the Homeric hymns . After - as described on the Persephone crater - the daughter of Demeter had been kidnapped by Hades into the underworld, the grieving vegetation goddess roamed the country. In Eleusis , she was accepted as a nanny at the court of King Keleos and his wife Metaneira , who had had a son, Demophon , for the first time after several daughters . The goddess took care of this child. She anointed the child in ambrosia and put it in the fire at night to make it immortal. One night she was disturbed by Metaneira and the magic of immortality was broken. Now the angry goddess revealed herself. All night long Metaneira and her daughters had to appease the goddess, who could only be satisfied through the establishment of a cult - the Mysteries of Eleusis. Consequently, the daughters of Metaneira can be seen on the lower register with objects for the cult. This cult lasted through ancient times until the victory of Christianity. The boy in the middle register is therefore a demophon.
Amphorae
The two amphorae belonging to the find come from the Lucera painter . Both amphorae are constructed almost identically. As with two of the volute craters, there are grave structures on the front and grave steles on the back. A young, armed man sits in an Ionic naiskos. The only difference can be found in the two figures, which are each next to the naiskos. If this is a young man on the left for both, it is also a young man on the right of the smaller vase, while it is a woman in the larger amphora. The smaller of the amphorae is 56.5 centimeters high, the larger 64 centimeters.
Skyphoi
Two oversized skyphoi , drinking vessels, belong, like the amphorae, to the middle class of tableware of the find. They were painted on both sides by the Armidale painter with women's heads with artistic white-colored bonnets. A tube tänie is painted in front of the face , and the heads are surrounded by rosettes . The sides are decorated with large palmettes under the handles . One Skyphos is 30.5 centimeters, the other 31 centimeters high.
Heracles plate
The Herakles plate is attributed to the Phrixos group from the circle of the underworld painter. It has a diameter of 50 centimeters. In the middle picture the apotheosis of Heracles is shown. The hero is now on his way to Olympus , not represented in the usual way. He is not bearded, but portrayed like a youth, which is supposed to symbolize the eternal youth of the gods. Instead of the lion's skin, he wears a coat. The only attribute that names the man as Herakles is the club in his hand. Next to him on the quadriga is Athena, the hero's patron goddess. Heracles is thus represented on the vases like all the other deceased young men. It is unclear whether this adjustment is programmatic or just a result of the painter's imagination.
The frieze running around the edge shows mermaids who use various sea creatures - sea bream , dolphins and sea dragons - as mounts. You hold various objects in your hand - a mirror, a play ball, a box and a musical instrument - all of which are considered attributes of a carefree life in the hereafter.
Woman's head and fish plate
In addition to the large Herakles plate, thirteen other smaller plates belong to the find. Four of them are so-called women's head plates. They are 19 to 20 centimeters in diameter and are attributed to the Armidale painter. The women's heads correspond to those on the skyphoi of the find, which were also assigned to the Armidale painter. While three of the plates are almost completely preserved, one of the plates from the 1991 purchase has only survived in fragments.
Nine fish plates , a special type of vase that was widespread throughout southern Greek Italy, complete the ensemble. They are assigned to one or more painters from the circle of the Dareios painter. These painters are referred to as the Karlsruhe 66/140 group. It is possible that it is just a single painter, the painter from Karlsruhe 66/140 . Their diameter is 23.3 to 25 centimeters, their height in the specimens with preserved feet 6.5 to 7.4 centimeters. Three large aquatic animals are shown on all plates, each dominating about a third of the area. Two-banded bream are shown most often, only they are shown on two of the plates. On one of the plates there is a black-banded bream . Also includes horn mussels , squid , sea bass , Marble electric rays and other part of the repertoire of the representations. Between the large aquatic animals there are usually small mussels or ivy leaves that separate the larger images from each other.
More fragments
A woman's head and five fish plates were reconstructed from the subsequent acquisitions in 1991. Six other fragments remained, in which shell remains of the xenon genus were recognized. Based on the shape of the five lip fragments - the sixth fragment comes from the transition between the pelvis and foot - it is concluded that there were two different shell sizes with estimated diameters of around 15 and 20 centimeters. The number of vessels to which the six fragments belong is unknown. As far as can be seen, the painting of the bowls is purely ornamental.
Artist
The different painters to whom the works are ascribed all belong to the same environment. The vases were all made around 340 BC. Dated, but chronological gradations can be determined. The first painter in chronological terms was the Varrese painter, who lived in the middle of the 4th century BC. Was one of the most important vase painters in Apulia. The immediate predecessors of the Darius painter joined him. Closest to the Varrese painter is the painter of Copenhagen 4223. This was followed by the Darius painter, who was the first late Apulian painter to exploit the possibilities of monumental vessels. His artistry influenced all Apulian vase painters who followed him. With three vases, most of the items in the find are ascribed to him or to artists from his immediate and immediate vicinity. His most important successor was the underworld painter who, in addition to the Darius painter, created most of the great works of the grave find. The Armidale painter was the latest of the painters represented in the ensemble and possibly identical to the Ganymede painter . He was more of a master of small vase shapes, of which up to 600 works have survived.
A comparatively large number of vases have survived from the artists represented here. All had worked in a Tarentine manufactory-like workshop with quite high production figures. To this day it is not exactly clear how one should imagine the construction of such large workshops, although one knows that there were several of them in southern Italy. The Darius underworld workshop , from which the works listed here originate, is considered to be the manufactory that produced the highest quality works of red-figure Apulian vases from this period.
literature
- Margot Schmidt , Arthur Dale Trendall , Alexander Cambitoglu : A group of Apulian grave vases in Basel . Archäologischer Verlag Basel on commission from Von Zabern, Mainz 1976.
- Luca Giuliani : picture vases from Apulia . Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-7861-1538-9 (picture booklets of the Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, No. 55).
- Arthur Dale Trendall: red-figure vases from southern Italy and Sicily. A manual . Von Zabern, Mainz 1991, ISBN 3-8053-1111-7 ( Cultural History of the Ancient World , Vol. 47).
- Luca Giuliani: tragedy, sadness and consolation. Picture vases for an Apulian funeral . State Museums in Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage, Collection of Antiquities, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-88609-325-9 .
Notes and evidence
- ↑ For the official acquisition history, see Luca Giuliani: Tragik, Trauer und Trost. Picture vases for an Apulian funeral. National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage, Berlin 1995, pp. 21–22
- ^ Peter Watson: The Medici Conspiracy. The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities. New York 2006, ISBN 1-58648-402-8 , pp. 199-200. 282
- ^ A b Giuliani: tragedy, grief and consolation. P. 24
- ^ A b Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, p. 23
- ^ Giuliani: tragedy, grief and consolation. Pp. 24, 62-65
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.41, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 6-10 and 31; Giuliani: Tragic, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 26–31
- ↑ All assignments come from Trendall.
- ↑ Luca Giuliani: Vases from Apulia , p. 6
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.48, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , p. 31
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.39, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 10-13 and 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mrauer und Solst, pp. 31–33
- ↑ inventory number 1984.40, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 13–15 and 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 33–37
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.44, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 15-17 and 31; Giuliani: Tragic, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 37–43
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.45, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 18–24 and 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 43–45
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.42, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , p. 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 51–54
- ↑ inventory number 1984.43, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , p. 31; Giuliani: Tragic, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 54–55
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.46, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 24–28 and 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 45–49
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.49–50, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , p. 31; Giuliani: tragic, sadness and consolation, pp. 57–59
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.58-59, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien, p. 31; Giuliani: tragic, sadness and consolation, pp. 56–57
- ↑ Inventory number 1984.47, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , pp. 28 and 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 48–50
- ↑ Inventory numbers 1984.51–53 and 1991.9c, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien , p. 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 63–65
- ↑ Inventory numbers 1984.54–57 and 1991.4-8 and 9b, description by Luca Giuliani: Bildervasen aus Apulien, p. 31; Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, pp. 59–63
- ↑ Giuliani: Tragik, Mourning and Consolation, p. 65
- ↑ For the painters and their chronology and history, see AD Trendall: Red-Figure Vases from Lower Italy and Sicily , v. a. Pp. 97-115
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '10 " N , 13 ° 23' 54" E
