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The Master of the Berlin Amphora

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

J. D. Beazley
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Extract

One of the best Greek vases we possess is the amphora No. 2160 in the Berlin Museum (Fig. 1 and Pll. XV.–XVI). There is something specially charming about these graceful woodland people, the dreaming Silens and their instruments of music, young Hermes with winged head and feet, the gentle fawn. The question, however, who painted the piece, has been variously answered. Furtwängler, in his catalogue, thought of Brygos, but some years later he attributed the vase to the painter called Kleophrades; and Winter said it was by Euphronios. A year ago, the present writer indicated five other vases by the same hand; and he now proposes to examine the work of this anonymous painter, who may be called the Master of the Berlin amphora; for although we possess a fair number of his paintings, none is quite so elaborate as this, though some of them are rightly admired.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 31 , November 1911 , pp. 276 - 295
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1911

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References

I owe my thanks to Miss G. M. A. Richter, Mr. L. D. Caskey, Dr. Holwerda, Drs. Sieveking and Hackl, Mr. Pottier, and Mr. A. H. Smith for allowing me to publish vases in New York, Boston, Leyden, Munich, the Louvre, and the British Museum, and for sending me photographs; to Mr. E. P. Warren for allowing me to publish the vase in his collection and for a drawing of the Boston fragment by Mr. F. H. Gearing; to Dr. Pridik for telling me the patterns of the St. Petersburg vase ; to Dr. Köster and to Dr. Delbrück for allowing me to inspect the apparatus of the Berlin Museum and of the German Institute in Rome; to Miss H. L. Lorimer and Mr. A. S. Owen for supplementing my scanty notes on the Palermo vases ; and to Prof. Myres for referring me to the Myrina vase in note 10.

1 2, p. 485.

2 Berl. Phil. Woch. 1894, p. 114.

3 Jahreshefte, iii. p. 128.

4 J.H.S. xxx. p. 38, note 5 and p. 49.

5 For the spiral, v. ibid., p. 55, note 57. The earliest example of the r.-f. ivy-wreath is Louvre kalpis G 49 (Pottier, Album, Pl. 94); then comes our amphora.

6 Our plates are composite drawings from the previous publications, with some corrections. They will presently be superseded by a new drawing in FRH. (kind communication by Dr. Zahn).

7 FR. Pl. 48.

8 No. 9 is a mere fragment, and the patterns are lost.

9 Our Nos. 13 d and 24 a. The doubtful example is on the fragmentary 13f, where the pattern is incomplete.

10 This pattern is found on Asiatic vases: Louvre B 561, amphora from Myrina, (Bull. Corr. Hell. 8. Pl. 7)Google Scholar; Berlin, a fragment from Pergamon; B.M. inv. 1907, 12–1, 726, a fragment from Ephesos; B.M. inv. 1888, 6–1, 477, a fragment from Naukratis.

Not on Attic b.-f. vases.

On Attic r.-f. vases: Severe lekythoi; Vienna, Hofmuseum 608; Munich, Glyptothek. Severe Nolan amphorae: Berlin 2330; B.M. E 296 (Él. Cér. 4, Pl. 48); Louvre G 204. Severe fragment (of oinochoe?) in Athens (I have not seen the original of the Athens piece; to judge from the drawing kindly shown me by Dr. Hartwig, it belongs to our master's school). Free lekythoi: Athens 12480 (phot. Alinari 24472), New York (Bull. Metr. Mus. June 1909, p. 104, Fig. 6), and Berlin (Coll. Sabouroff, Pl. 60. 1); Palermo (FR. Pl. 66, 1). Free amphora with twisted handles B.M. E 277: free amphora with ridged handles, Copenhagen. Finally, amphora with twisted handles Genick Gr. Ker. Pl. 4 a: this may belong to the school of our master (group 13 a-h), but the reproduction is styleless; the foot is as Furtwängler notices (ibid. p. 17) a restoration.

For the genesis of this pattern from the maeander, v. Corinthian jug Louvre E 648 (Pottier, Album, Pl. 51) and Corinthian hydria Berlin 1657.

The lekythos in the Glyptothek (subject, Herakles with the tripod) is a work of Kleophrades. I should like it added, together with a kalpis belonging to Mr.Castellani, Augusto in Rome (Herakles and the lion), to the list given of that artist's vases in J.H.S. 30Google Scholar.

11 Stopt key alternating with stopped maeander: severe lekythoi, Oxford 323 and Munich 2476; severe Nolan amphora with patterns only, Rome, coll. Mr. Aug. Castellani.

Stopt key in 2's alternating with stopped maeander in 2's: severe Nolan amphora, Copenhagen 4978.

Stopt key in 3's alternating with stopped maeander in 3's: severe lekythos, B.M E 574.

Stopt key in 2's with saltire-squares and Dourian cross-squares from top and bottom: stamnos, Berlin 2186 (Ann. 1860, Pl. L-M).

12 For Munich vases, the new number is given, and Jahn's number added in brackets. In Naples vases, Heydemann's number is added in brackets.

13 A. Amazon l. regardant, short chiton and helmet, in r. upright spear, on l. shield: B. Amazon r. regardant, corslet, helmet, and greaves, r. extended downwards, on l. shield, in l. spear.

14 A. l. Herakles moving l. regardant, l. leg frontal, r. raised with club, with l. grasps middle leg of tripod; 2. Athena moving l. regardant, r. extended with helmet, in l. spear across shoulder; 3. Apollo moving l., r. extended, in l. bow. B. 4. Youth leaning on stick r., r. hand on hip, l. extended; 5. boy moving r. regardant, r. arm extended, r. hand on 4's shoulder, l. hand in himation; 6. man standing l., r. hand at chin, in l. stick.

15 Él. Cér. 3. Pl. 62.

16 So, I think, Hauser; but I cannot find the reference.

17 B. Woman running r., l. extended.

18 A. Herakles lying on plain mattress l., r. extended, in l. kantharos: B. Silen r., in r. oinochoe, in l. lyre (B. much restored).

19 In hydriai of b.-f. shape, this foot occurs only on our Nos. 25 and 25a, Boston (phot. Coolidge 9685), and B.M.E. 162, E 163, E 161.

20 l. Dionysos moving l., in r. horn, in l. thyrse; 2. Maenad moving r. regardant, in l. thyrse and snake, r. extended: between them small lion r.; cf. especially our No. 20.

21 Man moving r. regardant, r. leg frontal, in l. lyre.

22 Young warrior, corslet and helmet, standing r. leg frontal, head l., in l. spear, with r. pours from phiale.

23 A. l. Silen lying l. fluting; 2. Dionysos lying l., r. extended in l. large kotyle: B. 3. Silen kneeling r., ¾-back view, r. extended plunging oinochoe into bell-krater of same shape as our Nos. 22–24.

24 A. l. Man leaning on stick r., in r. lyre; 2. youth stdg. l., r. extended; between them, dog l.: B. youth moving l. regardant, l. leg frontal, in r. hand stick.

25 A. Young warrior, corslet, helmet, standing l. leg frontal, head r., in r. upright spear: B. naked youth standing r., in l. upright spear.

26 Not in the museum at Boulogne.

The Eros resembles very closely the Eros on the Naples vase, our No. 8. The earliest vases where Eros by himself forms the subject of a complete picture, are the early r.-f. Chachrylioncup, in Florence (Mus. Ital. 3Google Scholar, Pl. 2) and the early cup B.M. E 13 (Murray, Designs, No. 10); next comes the Naples vase with a larger-seale figure.

The Eros on the Nolan amphora with the name of Diokles, B.M. E 296 (Él Cér. 4Google Scholar, Pl. 48) shows the influence of our master, but the style is not that of his school. The pattern on A of that vase is a stopt key—the artist's tribute to the man whose conception he had borrowed.

27 The black median line is characteristic of the later work of Kleophrades, (J.H.S. 30, p. 47Google Scholar and note 28, where the Berlin amphora should have been quoted).

28 Jahn, Cat. Pl. 3, No. 9.

29 Klein, , Liebl. p. 126Google Scholar.

30 Furtw., Cat. 2, pp. 484–5Google Scholar.

31 Neck, foot, and handles are restorations: the handles were presumably twisted. A. Nike flying r., head frontal, in r. thymiaterion: B. Nothing remains except the toes of a foot on the ground and a fragment of the pattern.

32 Neck and handles are restorations. A. Nike flying l., in r. thymiaterion, in l. phiale. B. Youth r., in l. stick, r. extended down.

33 The lower part of the vase, including the legs of A, and all but the head and shoulders of B, is a restoration.

34 Cat. Vases du Louvre, 3, p. 1020.

35 Both faces restored.

36 A. l. Her. r. with club grasping shoulder of 2. 2. Centaur r. regardant with pinebranch. B Centaur running r. with pinebranch and beast-skin; fragmentary.

37 Old bald man, naked, moving l., r. extended: B. Naked youth moving r. with lyre. The extreme right-hand maeander on A is replaced by a stopt key. Careless.

38 A. Akontist running r., ¾-back view, r. raised in front of forehead throwing horizontal akontion: B. Naked youth running l., r. extended, in l., at side, akontion.

39 A. Tript. in car r., in r. sceptre, in l. ears of grain: B. Pers. l., r. raised, in l. sceptre.

40 A. Naked youth, wrap both arms, moving r. with barbiton; B. Naked man moving r. regardant, in r. stick.

41 A. Youth, himation, r., in r. phiale. B. Youth, himation, r., r. extended.