The sixth fascicle of the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum of the Jatta National Museum in Ruvo (Puglia) is devoted to the Attic black- and red-figure pottery of the 6th and 5th century BC once belonging to the Jatta family. This prestigious archaeological collection of ca. 2000 artifacts, mainly from the Ruvo area and its surroundings, was created by Giovanni Jatta (1767–1844) and his family during the 19th century and was eventually sold to the Italian state in 1990.
The present fascicle, written by two authors, Elvia and Giada Giudice, with distinctive contributions (E. Giudice: pp. 5–6, 12–15, 71–124; G. Giudice: pp. 6–12, 29–71, 124–155), is organized in sections. In the first section, the authors sketch the history of the collection and introduce us to its Attic vases catalogued in the volume via two chapters: one discussing painters and shapes, and one discussing the subjects depicted. Noteworthy is the attempt to trace the trends regarding the trade of Attic vases in the Ruvo area and its surroundings, the taste of its inhabitants, as well as the special significance of these particular vases and their probable content in the funerary contexts in which they were most likely found.[1] This is followed by the acknowledgments, and subsequently a long, very helpful list of the abbreviations of a rich and up-to date bibliography. The text presents seventy-eight Attic vases,[2] more than half of which were unpublished up to now, presented in chronological order: first the black-figure vases dating to 530–460/50 BC, and secondly the red-figure ware dating to 470/460–380/360 BC. Following the text are three indexes (a. index of Painters, Groups and Classes, b. index of mythological figures, and c. index of provenances) and a concordance of Jatta numbers with inventory numbers and plates. Last but not least, the book closes with sixty-four black-and-white plates.
The catalogue follows the well-known format established for the CVA fascicles in recent years, namely after the heading and the inventory number come the measurements, the Munsell Chart colour and number, the condition of the vase and its drawing, then a full and precise description of the shape, the subsidiary ornament and the figural decoration (with reference to the use of added colour and incision), followed by attribution and date. The vase’s description is succeeded by the author’s commentary on the iconography and the interpretation of the scene, the Painter and/or its Workshop, and the shape. The references to the most important and relevant scientific literature are to a large extent exhaustive, and the listing of comparanda is quite generous. The bibliography mentioning the vase is written at the end. Each entry is accompanied by a good profile drawing, which gives an accurate picture of the shape and its special features.
The first part of the catalogue presents all thirty Attic black-figure vessels of the Jatta collection, and more specifically twenty-four black-figure vases (namely oinochoai, olpai, one amphoriskos, cups, cup-skyphoi, skyphoi and lekythoi), four black-figure on white ground lekythoi and two black-bodied ones. Their presentation order is according to shape and date, with one exception: the two lekythoi 36098 and 36103 (pl. 20–21) with figured scenes are not discussed with the other lekythoi with figured scenes, but they are interposed between the lekythoi with palmettes and floral decoration and the black-bodied ones. Some of these vases are thought-provoking due to their iconography, like the oinochoe 36252 (pl. 5, 4–5) with a female head of a goddess (Persephone?) in a cave, in front of a burning altar. Another puzzling scene is depicted on the cup 36093 (pl. 9), which shows a female winged figure between riders and warriors; the author argues in favour of her identification as Eris, an attractive hypothesis, especially since Eris’ depictions are rather rare; but the scene does not show any conflict or battle which would justify Eris’ appearance. Another vase of interest is the pseudo-panathenaic amphoriskos showing athletes running a race (pl. 7), not only for the artifact per se and the interpretation of its use but also for its provenance from a funerary context on the Italian peninsula.
The second part of the catalogue is devoted to forty-eight Attic red-figure vases, namely kraters (column, bell and volute), cups, skyphoi, kantharoi, head-vases, pelikai, lekythoi and askoi. Among them one of the masterpieces of the Museum stands out: the famous volute krater attributed to the Kadmos Painter depicting Dionysos and his thiasos on one side and the musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas on the other, to which the author (E. Giudice) dedicates—justifiably—twelve pages and eight plates, an actual essay, in which she discusses the subject and its iconography in relation to ancient sources, the shape and the vase-painter. Undoubtedly, there are also other red-figure vases in the fascicle of special interest; some show intriguing iconography [Boreas and Oreithyia (pl. 27–28), Athena and Marsyas with Apollo present (pl. 37–38), Poseidon and Amymone on both sides of the same vase (pl. 47)], high quality in mastery or special features in the technique applied [(pl. 39) despite the modern interventions to the painting]. To the positive aspects of the present volume should be added the recognition by G. Giudice of new vase-painters for the askoi 36899 (Ruvo 1469 Painter), 36851 (Jatta Collection Painter) and 36856 (Ruvo 1421 Painter) and their connection with other vases painted by them.
The present fascicle contributes to the study of Attic vase-painting of the Archaic and Classical period, since it presents a variety of vases, well researched, accompanied by synthetic discussion richly annotated and with abundant comparanda. Apart from some minor typos,[3] the addition of the Beazley archive pottery database numbers to the vases mentioned in the text would be most useful. One remark regards an issue of terminology: The three lekythoi 35271 (pl. 21, 5–6), 35754 (without photos), and 36138 (pl. 51, 1–2) are all black-bodied,[4] but in the text the first two are characterized—misleadingly—as lekythoi “a figure nere”, and the third one as “lekythos a figure rosse”, even though they bear no decoration painted in the red-figure technique.[5] It would be preferable to have chosen another term, as for example “lekythoi a corpo nero”, which would describe more accurately this precise type of lekythos. Moreover, some minor bibliographical additions to complement the text are the following:
- Regarding the oinochoe 36252 (pl. 5, 4–5) and the volute krater 36818 (pls. 29–36): On altars in vase painting, see D. Aktseli, Altäre in der archaischen und klassischen Kunst. Untersuchungen zu Typologie und Ikonographie, Leidorf 1996.
- Regarding the black-figure shoulder lekythos 36096 (pl. 13, 1–5): On the puzzling issue of the presence of spectators in many mythological scenes and its interpretation, see additionaly M. Franceschini, Attische Mantelfiguren. Relevanz eines standardisierten Motivs der rotfigurigen Vasenmalerei, Rahden/Westf. 2018, 121–125, 207–210.
- For a close parallel for the lekythos 35751 (pl. 51, 3–5), see also the lekythos AFY 546 from Aphytis (Chalcidice), in the Archaeological Museum of Polygyros, attributed to the Karlsruhe Painter [Α. Arvanitaki, in E. Manakidou, A. Avramidou (eds.), Η κεραμική της κλασικής εποχής στο Βόρειο Αιγαίο και την περιφέρειά του (480–323/300 π.Χ.). Πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Αρχαιολογικού Συνεδρίου, Θεσσαλονίκη, 17–20 Μαΐου 2017, Thessaloniki 2019, 418, fig. 14b].
Regrettably the quality of the photographic documentation of the vases in the present fascicle does not do justice to the text and the authors’ efforts. The illustrations lack, in most part, mug-shots and proper profile views of the vessels. In many cases, additional and sharper photographs as well as detail shots would be most welcome. A characteristic example is the olpe 36092 (pl. 6, 4), whose left side of the narrative scene as well as the proper profile of the vase should have been included; another example is the cup 36086 (p.10, 1–2), whose tondo and side B are not shown on the plates, etc. Additionally the lekythos 36098 on pl. 20 is shown wrongly restored. And, lastly, there is the issue of lekythos 35754, which should have been displayed on pl. 21, 7–8, but its photos are totally missing.
Nevertheless, despite the unsatisfactory quality of the illustrations, the present fascicle is a welcome addition to the series, mainly due to the well-researched material, which any scholar of pottery can find useful.
Notes
[1] Only in ten instances is the exact provenance of the vase known. And it is interesting to note that all ten of them involve black-figure vases, a rather strange coincidence.
[2] The Jatta collection comprises circa one-hundred-fifty-two Attic vessels in total. It is to be assumed that another CVA fascicle will follow with the remaining red-figure vases of the 4th c. BC.
[3] For example: p. 7: the oinochoe 36112 is on pl. 3, 1–3 and not on pl. 5, 1–3; pl. 6, 3 the correct inv. no. is 36084 and not 36115; p. 53 the cup London, British Museum (ABV, 645, 182, 651: “By or near the”) should be completed as “By or near the Caylus Painter”; p. 85: KLINGER and not KINGLER; p. 90: Στην υγειά μας and not Στην υγίεια μας; p. 102: Μουσείο Rodin and not Ροδίν; p. 121: on side B, Poseidon is in profile facing left (not right) and with his himation on the left (not the right) shoulder; lastly, the owl-skyphos depicted on pl. 54, 3 is Inv. 35255, not 35285, a crucial detail that should be corrected in the text as well (pp. 135 and 137).
[4] For the term, see D.C. Kurtz, Athenian White Lekythoi. Patterns and Painters, Oxford 1975, 115.
[5] Its characterization as “lekythos a figure rosse” derived probably from its attribution to the Bowdoin Painter’s Workshop, a red-figure vase-painter. For Haspel’s theory that the Bowdoin Painter, who worked in the red-figure technique, is the same person as the Athena Painter, who painted black-figure vases, and that if this is not so, they at least seem to have been working in the same workshop, see ABL 157–160. ARV2 677. D. Williams, in M. J. Padgett (ed.), The Berlin Painter and his World. Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C., New Haven, London 2017, 150.