On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Bell krater (mixing bowl) depicting two satyrs practicing divination with draughts (A); two men (B),
ca. 380–370 BCE
attributed to the Dolon Painter
South Italian, Lucanian
Classical Period, ca. 480–323 BCE
y1986-33
The bell krater’s shape is associated with fifth-century Athens, but in the later fifth and early fourth centuries BCE, south Italian potters and painters adopted the shape, composing elaborate scenes on the large, broad planes of its body. The image painted onto this bell krater, however, is difficult to interpret: it seems to represent two satyrs (followers of Dionysos) engaged in divination. With his emphatic gesture, the seated satyr evidently points to the results of their inquiry as foretold by the dice or pebbles scattered on the table. More difficult to explain are the statue bases underneath the two satyrs. Since this scene is without a clear precedent in Athenian literature or art, it may be a new artistic invention, perhaps one that is related to south Italian myths or plays.
Information
Title
Bell krater (mixing bowl) depicting two satyrs practicing divination with draughts (A); two men (B)
Dates
ca. 380–370 BCE
Maker
attributed to the Dolon Painter
Medium
Red-figure ceramic
Dimensions
h. 26.3 cm, diam. 28.5 cm (10 3/8 x 11 1/4 in.)
diam. foot 13.0 cm (5 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds designated for The Art Museum by the Governor of New Jersey, The Honorable Thomas Kean
Object Number
y1986-33
Place Made
Europe, Italy, Lucania (southern Italy)
Culture
Period
Type
With J. Hirsch, no. 1027, sold in 1957; with Bellinzona, Dr. Athos Moretti;. Lugano market, Pino Donati; New York market, Acanthus; purchased by the Museum from Donati at the Bale Antiquitätenmesse, April 1986.
- Frank Brommer, Satyrspiele: Bilder griechischer Vasen, (Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1944). , cat. no. 223
- Bedeutende Kunstwerke aus dem Nachlass Dr. Jacob Hirsch, (Luzern: Adolph Hess AG; New York: William H. Schab, 1957)., cat. no. 29; pl. I7 and pl. 15 (slde A only).
- T.B.L Webster, Monuments illustrating tragedy and satyr-play, (London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, 1962)., p. 76; cat. no. TV19
- Babesch. Bulletin antieke beschaving 38 (1963)., p. 67; fig. 13
- A.D. Trendall, The red-figured vase painters of Lucania, Campania and Sicily, (Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1967)., p. 507; no. 55
-
Arthur Dale, The red-figured vases of Lucania, Campania and Sicily: third supplement (consolidated), (London: Institute of Classical Studies, 1970-).
, pp. 56-57, D10 (552) and p. 64: Dolon Painter (as: Dolon Painter, "...one of his earlier works.") - John Boardman, et. al., Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC), (Zürich: Artemis Verlag, 1981-2009)., Vol. 4: p. 883, Demeter 468; p. 726, pl. 442, Herakleidai 9; p. 806, pl. 536, Herakles 1409; Vol. 5: p. 755, pl. 498, Iris I 153;
- A. D. Trendall, "An early South Italian bell-krater", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 46, no. 2 (1987): p. 2-7., p. 24; figs. 1-2
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1986," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 46, no. 1 (1987): p. 18–52, p. 30
