Vase Catalog Number: Berlin F 2289

Decoration:

Interior: women preparing wool. The woman seated on a chair on the left has one bare foot propped on a special foot-support. Her chiton and mantle are pulled up above her knees, so that she can twist the loose wool around her leg prepatory to spinning it. She holds a thick strand of red wool in her hands. A basket stands near her ready for the finished yarn. A second young woman stands facing the seated woman, holding up the edge of the arm of her chiton in the fingers of her right hand. Both women wear chiton, mantle and sakkos. On the far right, a second wool basket stands on a cushioned stool. An inscription runs along the inside edge of the tondo.

Side A: komos.

Side B: komos. There are five revelers on side A, and six on side B. All the men are bearded and wear mantles draped in various ways. On side A, a man dances in the center. The flute-player on the right wears a bonnet and carries his two flutes one to a hand. The man on the far right dances with a kylix. The two men on the left dance holding skyphoi; the one nearest the center also carries a kylix. On side B the central figures are the flute player and a man dancing with a skyphos in one hand and a kylix in the other. Two men dance animatedly to either side. On the far right stands a man holding a kylix in each hand. On the far left a man dances with a kylix. A deep cup with two handles stands on the ground between the legs of the man second from left. The men on both sides wear wreaths, with the exception of the flute-player on side A who wears a bonnet, and the left-most man on side B who wears a wide headband.

Inscriptions:

Above the scene in the tondo, written in red, is the inscription: hOPAISKALOS, the boy is beautiful.

Collection History:

The cup once belonged in the Canino collection. It was acquired by the museum in 1841.

Condition:

The vase is in very good condition. There is slight discoloration on the surface of some fragments, and loss of surface glaze along the fractures.

Sources Used:

CVA, Germany 21, Berlin 2: pl. 80.1-2, 81.1-4, 127.2,6, 134.8

Other Bibliography:

Gerhard T.G. pl. 14, 1-4; Jh 12, pl. 1; Perrot & Chipiez, 659; Ahrem 99 fig. 104; Bieber G.K. I; Cloché pl. 28, 1; Pfuhl 1923, fig. 461; Neugebauer pl. 49, 2; Brendel Schafzucht pl. 66, 2; Lücken 1967, pls. 11-12; Greifenhagen 1968, pl. 63; Schweitzer M.H. pl. 8, 2; Greifenhagen 1968, 2.73; Boardman 1975, fig. 293; Boardman & La Rocca 1978, 100-101; Gehrig et al. Führer, pl. 77; Moon 1983, 222, fig. 14.30; Wegner 1968b, fig. 33; MedInstRome 9-10 (1983) pl. 4, fig. 1; Hoffmann 1971a, 119, fig. 95; Keuls 1985, 175, fig. 153, 254, fig. 232.

(Kathleen Krattenmaker)