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Fragment of a krater
Greek, South Italian
Classical Period (Early Apulian)
390–380 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Italy, Apulia
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions
Length: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number13.206
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Vase-Painting in Italy (MFA), no. 012.
DescriptionCallisto being turned into a bear. Her head, with ursine ears, and one clawed hand are visible to the right of a pollarded laurel tree. She is skillfully drawn in three-quarter view, with attention to such details as pupils, irises, eyelashes, and the hairs on the nape. Her long locks are rendered with a multitude of relief lines. The spotted cloak of another figure (Artemis?) appears to the left, possibly a shoulder and forearm.
ITALIAN VASE PAINTING in ITALY, # 12 (13.206)
Fragment of a Krater
Attributed to the Black Fury Painter
390-380 B.C.
Callisto being turned into a bear. Her head, with ursine ears, and one clawed hand are visible to the right of a pollarded laurel tree. She is skillfully drawn in three-quarter view, with attention to such details as pupils, irises, eyelashes, and the hairs on the nape. Her long locks are rendered with a multitude of relief lines. The spotted cloak of another figure (Artemis?) appears at the left, possibly a shoulder and forearm.
This piece well illustrates the early stages of the Ornate syle, and the quality of the drawing supports Trendall's comment that "Fragments... from vases in the Black Fury Group must rank among the finest examples of early Apulian vase-painting" (Handbook, p. 78).
An oinochoe in the Getty Museum (72, AE.128) presents the subject in fuller form; see A.D. Trendall, AntK 20 (1977), pp. 99-101; RVAp, I, pp. 165-167, no. 7/12. For Callisto, see I. McPhee, LIMC, V, 1, pp. 940-944; V, 2, pls. 604-605.
ITALIAN VASE PAINTING in ITALY, # 12 (13.206)
Fragment of a Krater
Attributed to the Black Fury Painter
390-380 B.C.
Callisto being turned into a bear. Her head, with ursine ears, and one clawed hand are visible to the right of a pollarded laurel tree. She is skillfully drawn in three-quarter view, with attention to such details as pupils, irises, eyelashes, and the hairs on the nape. Her long locks are rendered with a multitude of relief lines. The spotted cloak of another figure (Artemis?) appears at the left, possibly a shoulder and forearm.
This piece well illustrates the early stages of the Ornate syle, and the quality of the drawing supports Trendall's comment that "Fragments... from vases in the Black Fury Group must rank among the finest examples of early Apulian vase-painting" (Handbook, p. 78).
An oinochoe in the Getty Museum (72, AE.128) presents the subject in fuller form; see A.D. Trendall, AntK 20 (1977), pp. 99-101; RVAp, I, pp. 165-167, no. 7/12. For Callisto, see I. McPhee, LIMC, V, 1, pp. 940-944; V, 2, pls. 604-605.
ProvenanceBy 1912: with E. P. Warren (according to Warren's records: From Taranto.); purchased by MFA from E. P. Warren, January 2, 1913, for $18,948.70 (this figure is the total price for MFA 13.186-13.245)