| Collection: | Toledo Museum of Art |
| Summary: | Main panel: transformation of Tyrrhenian pirates into dolphins. Upper panel: triton. Neck: two youths. |
| Ware: | Etruscan Black Figure |
| Painter: | Attributed to the Micali Painter |
| Date: | ca. 510 BC - ca. 500 BC |
| Dimensions: | H. to top of handle 0.521 m., h. to rim 0.457 m., d. rim 0.216 m., d. body 0.296 m., w. with handles 0.345 m., d. foot 0.155 m. |
| Shape: | Hydria |
| Period: | Archaic |
Decoration Description:
There are three separate panels on the vessel: neck, shoulder, and body. On the body or main panel, six men are being transformed into dolphins. All are in diving position, heads down, entering the sea, which is depicted by a band of waves curling to the left along the bottom of the scene. Only the figure on the far left has a human head and arms and a dolphin tail; the others have all been transformed from head to waist, with human legs remaining. The figure at the far right points more horizontally than the others, who have their noses to the waves. The horizontal figure's knees are bent acutely, while the others' legs are more or less straight and forked in the air. The legs of the two figures furthest right overlap with each other. Incision outlining is used for all six figures; the incision often extends into the red ground beyond. Details of the figures are incised as well—eyes, snouts, human genitalia, thigh, knee and calf muscles. The figure on the far left has incised eye and eyebrow, nostril and mouth, front and rear hairlines, locks of hair on his neck, nipples, pectoral and abdominal muscles, and lines on his arms and fingers, as well as cursory lines marking the genitalia opposite his dorsal fin. An ivy garland with unincised leaves and stem is visible along the left edge of the panel. It may be taken to indicate the presence of Dionysos, as he transformed the pirates into dolphins.
In the shoulder scene a triton with full human facial features, torso and arms and an elongated fish tail swims left, holding a fish in his right hand and a dolphin in his left. Below him moves a band of left-curling waves. The triton, his catch, and the waves are all incised, and as in the main panel the incisions often extend into the red ground. Incised interior detail includes the triton's facial features, ear, the hair on his forehead, his beard, his hair which streams in tresses from behind his head, his pectoral muscles and nipples, the edges of his clavicles, his abdominal and arm muscles, his fingers, buttocks, and lines on his fish tail. At his left hip an incised fin dips into the water below. Incised details on the fish in the triton's right hand include its eye, mouth, fin, and three curved parallel lines on its body. Incision on the dolphin is similar to that in the main panel—snout, eye, a curved line on the head and three on the body, and an anal fin, which is not true to a dolphin's anatomy.
The neck scene depicts two naked youths moving left. The youth in front turns his head back to speak to his companion behind him. Both figures' arms are bent at the elbows, with the right forearms raised and the left pointing downward toward the buttocks. The right hands are open, while the left hands are clenched in fists. Both figures have their hair in a bun on their necks, and their contours are outlined with incision, which often spills onto the ground. Incised interior details include their front hairlines, facial features, ears, the underside of the buns on their necks, the clavicle edges, pectoral muscles, nipples, abdominal muscles, genitalia, and musculature on the arms, legs, and fingers.
Below the main panel a reserved band encircles the body. The mouth and neck interior are fully glazed. The upper parts of the mouth and foot are profiled, while the foot's underside is profiled and reserved. Both handle interiors have splotches of reserved space that was missed in the glazing process. Many dents and marks occur on the vessel, probably caused after drying and before firing. One of these impressions resembles the rim or foot of another vessel, with its regular curve about 0.05 m. in length in the reserved ground between the third and fourth figures in the main panel. A similar mark appears above the first figure in the main panel. These impressions may have been caused by other vessels pressed up against this vessel's surface, as they were carried together in a basket to the kiln.
Bothmer has argued that the figures in the main panel of the vessel were probably painted while the vase was held upside down, since the human feet appear to be walking upside down on a groundline formed by the upper edge of the panel.
The subject of the main panel is based on the Homeric Hymn to Dionysos, number 7 (
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