A Masterpiece of Faliscan Pottery
This magnificent red-figure krater, attributed to the so-called Painter of Nazzano, comes from the workshops of the ancient Falerii, today Civita Castellana. The pottery workshops of this area, located in southern Etruria, were highly regarded; the skill of the local ceramists was undoubtedly stimulated by the arrival of Athenian potters in the VI - V centuries BC. They initiated the local workshops in the red-figure technique, improving the artistic potential and the quality of the vases carried out by them.
The mythological scene of this side, krater face A, represents Athena and Poseidon, the protagonists of the struggle for the possession of Attica, in the midst of heroes and other divinities of Olympus. In the center of the scene, a sphinx with outstretched wings rests on an Ionic column. To left, the goddess Athena is portrayed with her traditional attributes: helmet, aegis with “gorgoneion”, spear and shield. She wears chiton and himation. In front of her an owl, the iconographic symbol of the goddess. To right Poseidon, the god of the sea, naked under a himation, has a crown and holds a trident; at his feet a sea monster. In the upper part of the scene, the first figure on the left is Perseus. The hero wears petasos and chiton; he holds Medusa's head with his left raised hand. In front of him Dionysus is sitting; the god is naked, with a crown in his hair, and a thyrsus in his right hand. To right of the sphinx there is a goddess, probably Hera, represented seated, and holding a scepter surmounted by a bird. The head of the goddess is turned back towards Heracles, portrayed with club, seated. The hero is naked; a himation covers his shoulders. In the lower left part we can recognize Eros , who, leaning against a pillar, offers an “alabastron” to a seated ephebe. To right, near Poseidon, a satyr, perhaps Marsyas portrayed with a lyre, closes the scene.
Source: collections.louvre.fr
Faliscan red-figured calyx krater
Height 43.2 cm.; Diameter 43.5 cm
Attributed bto the “Nazzano Painter”
AD 380 – 360
From Falerii, Civita Castellana, Viterbo
Paris, Musée du Louvre, Ca 7426
A Masterpiece of Faliscan Pottery
This magnificent red-figure krater, attributed to the so-called Painter of Nazzano, comes from the workshops of the ancient Falerii, today Civita Castellana. The pottery workshops of this area, located in southern Etruria, were highly regarded; the skill of the local ceramists was undoubtedly stimulated by the arrival of Athenian potters in the VI - V centuries BC. They initiated the local workshops in the red-figure technique, improving the artistic potential and the quality of the vases carried out by them.
The mythological scene of this side, krater face A, represents Athena and Poseidon, the protagonists of the struggle for the possession of Attica, in the midst of heroes and other divinities of Olympus. In the center of the scene, a sphinx with outstretched wings rests on an Ionic column. To left, the goddess Athena is portrayed with her traditional attributes: helmet, aegis with “gorgoneion”, spear and shield. She wears chiton and himation. In front of her an owl, the iconographic symbol of the goddess. To right Poseidon, the god of the sea, naked under a himation, has a crown and holds a trident; at his feet a sea monster. In the upper part of the scene, the first figure on the left is Perseus. The hero wears petasos and chiton; he holds Medusa's head with his left raised hand. In front of him Dionysus is sitting; the god is naked, with a crown in his hair, and a thyrsus in his right hand. To right of the sphinx there is a goddess, probably Hera, represented seated, and holding a scepter surmounted by a bird. The head of the goddess is turned back towards Heracles, portrayed with club, seated. The hero is naked; a himation covers his shoulders. In the lower left part we can recognize Eros , who, leaning against a pillar, offers an “alabastron” to a seated ephebe. To right, near Poseidon, a satyr, perhaps Marsyas portrayed with a lyre, closes the scene.
Source: collections.louvre.fr
Faliscan red-figured calyx krater
Height 43.2 cm.; Diameter 43.5 cm
Attributed bto the “Nazzano Painter”
AD 380 – 360
From Falerii, Civita Castellana, Viterbo
Paris, Musée du Louvre, Ca 7426