Object: Krater fragment

C/1953/55/1
Krater fragment
Darius Painter
Apulian
Italy
mid 4th century BCE
Materials: ceramic, & slip

This pottery fragment from an Apulian red-figure krater shows a scene from Greek mythology. The names of the two figures are written on the krater near the heads of each character, and are identified as Peleus and Phoenix. Peleus was one of the Argonauts, as well as one of the Calydonian boar hunters, and is best known for being the father of Achilles.  Phoenix, a prince of the Dolopes, was blinded and exiled by his father, Amyntor, as punishment for seducing one of his father’s mistresses (or concubines). After fleeing his father’s kingdom Phoenix meets Peleus, who arranged for the centaur Chiron (or Cheiron) to heal Phoenix’s sight. With his sight restored Phoenix remained close friends with Peleus and his family, eventually fighting with Achilles’ Myrmidons in the Trojan War. The scene depicted on the krater fragment at the Sam Noble Museum shows Phoenix first meeting Peleus, prior to having his sight restored.

The fragment shown above, in the Sam Noble Museum collection, has been attributed to the Darius Painter. When identifying the maker or artist behind a piece of ancient pottery archaeologists typically group pieces together based on the style of the decoration or repeating themes in the designs. The painter (or workshop) referred to as the Darius Painter by archaeologists is named for a vase currently in the Museo Archaeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy that depicts Darius, a Persian king. The Darius Painter is known for decorating very large Apulian red-figure vases. This painter (or workshop) worked in the so-called “Ornate” or “Rich” style of Apulian vase painting and would fill the surface of the vase with many figures and mythological scenes. Additionally, this painter (or workshop) was fond of labeling most of the figures on the vases with their name, which was helpful since he/they tended to depict mythological scenes that were not commonly used for vase painting. Instead, it is thought that the Darius Painter’s choices in subject matter and composition were influenced by theatrical productions. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Bronze Lion Statuette

C/1957/14/8
Gilt bronze lion
Ca. 17th Century
Italian
Materials: bronze, gilt

The lion–the king of the jungle–has been the symbol of power and bravery for centuries, dating to 675 BCE with the Lion Gate of Mycenae. Also known as the conquering lion, this symbol is known cross-culturally in contexts of astronomy, politics, and military. Displaying a lion statuette can indicate power and wealth, provide decoration, and invoke fear in its viewers. In the figure pictured above, the lion is protectively laying his right front paw on an orb, another timeless heraldic symbol. Generally the orb is a symbol for the universe. This small lion statuette holds a much larger meaning: protecting the universe.

This particular lion figure is very small, measuring 1.5 inches high by 2 inches long and is more likely to have been used as decoration in a smaller home. Generally, these figures were displayed guarding the gates to a home garden or city-state. The gilt bronze lion statuette was made using the lost wax bronze casting technique. This method can be broken down into thirteen major steps beginning with making the mold and ending with polishing the figure. The following video demonstrates how contemporary sculptors follow similar steps to create a statue in the same way that the lion would have been made back in the 17th century.

Bronze is a melted combination of copper and tin, but gilding bronze adds a few materials. This additional step increases the value of the object by adding ground gold and mercury to the materials. The gold remains with the other metals while the mercury evaporates. This golden outer shell gives the appearance of a solid gold statue. Due to the materials and the small size of the statue pictured above, it was probably owned by someone who was trying to reflect great wealth without possessing it. Someone who could afford to own any piece of art in the seventeenth century sent the message to others that they had enough money to afford luxury goods.

[Anna Sauer]

Object: Fragmentary Wall Fresco

C/1950/2/1
Fragment of wall Fresco
Pompeii, Italy
Roman
Ca. 60 C.E.
Materials:  Paint and plaster

This object is a fragment of a Roman wall fresco from Pompeii, Italy.  A faded ink inscription on the lower part of the fragment at the time of accession indicates it originated in the Casa di Fauno (House of the Faun), in Pompeii.  The section is 7.5” high and 7.0” wide.  Between two horizontal bands of green is a pattern of successive diamond-shaped panels formed of simple wreaths.  In each panel an appliquéd stucco comic mask is located.  This example has two masks preserved. The House of the Faun was first excavated by Carlo Bonucci between October 1831 and May 1832.  Accession records for this piece of fresco indicate it was collected from Pompeii in 1896.

The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a region called Campania, near the Bay of Naples.  The oldest buildings of Pompeii date to the 6th century B.C.E. and likely only occupied a small part of the south-western area, between the main Forum and the Triangular Forum. Pompeii gradually expanded toward the east and the north. Most of the ruins date back to its establishment as a Roman colony in 80 B.C.E.

On the morning of August 24th, 79 C.E. the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, burst open with an earsplitting crack. Smoke, mud, flames and burning stones spewed from the summit of the mountain, sending a rain of ash and rock through the surrounding countryside. The mud seeped down the sides of Vesuvius, swallowing nearby farms, orchards and villas. Adding to the destruction were the noxious vapors that accompanied the falling debris; the fumes first caused deliriousness in their victims, then suffocated them. The unfortunate people who could not escape the disaster were killed by falling buildings, overcome by the volcanic gas, or simply buried by the rapidly falling ash. Their bodies were quickly covered by the volcano’s mineral deposits, which covered Pompeii in a layer more than 30 feet thick.

Watch a video that includes Pliny the Younger’s first hand account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius here.

The House of the Faun was one of the largest and most expensive residences in ancient Pompeii, and today it is the most visited of all the houses in the famous ruins. The house takes up a whole city block, with an interior of some 3000 square meters. Built in the late second century B.C.E., the house is remarkable for the lavish mosaics which covered the floors, some still in place.

Although scholars are somewhat divided about the exact dates, it is likely that the first construction of the House of the Faun was built about 180 B.C.E. Some small changes were made over the next 250 years, but the house remained pretty much as it was constructed until August 24, 79 C.E., when Vesuvius erupted, and the owners either fled the city, or died with the other residents of Pompeii.

Fresco is the term for mural painting that has been done on the fresh, wet plaster of walls and ceilings.  Many of the frescoes uncovered at Pompeii are buon fresco.  In this style of fresco painting, a rough under-layer called the arricco is applied to the whole area to be painted.  It is then allowed to dry for several days.  Many artists would sketch their composition on this under-layer since it would never be seen.  When the artist was ready to paint, a smooth layer of fine plaster was added to the wall.  Usually, only an area large enough to be completed in a single was day was covered.  This work area was called the giornata, or “day’s work.” [Debra Taylor]

Object: Kantharos

C/2001/1/27
Black Bucchero-Ware Strap Kantharos
Etruscan
Italy, Tuscany
Ca. 600 BCE
Materials:  clay

Bucchero is a very common type of fine pottery that was made by the Etruscans when their civilization was at its height, from the seventh to the fourth century BCE. Characteristically, Bucchero-ware is black, sometimes gray, and often shiny from polishing. The color was achieved by firing in an atmosphere charged with carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. This is known as a reducing firing, and it converts the red of the clay, due to the presence of iron oxide, to the typical bucchero colors. Bucchero sottile is a very fine and thin pottery often decorated with incisions or various dot and line patterns.  The museum kantharos is an example of the sottile style.  The Bucchero pesante style appeared around the 6^th century BCE and is characterized by its thicker walls and relief decorations in the shape of animal and human heads.

A kantharos is a deep cup with two vertical handles, which often extend high above the lip of the cup, resembling ears.  Ancient authors regularly associated the kantharos with Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility and wine.
The origins of the Etruscan culture are lost to pre-history, however, the civilization that would become known as the Etruscan culture began to develop in northern Italy  around 800 BCE.  Although it is uncertain where the Etruscans came from, nevertheless it is clear that when they settled on the Italian Peninsula they brought with them civilization and urbanization.  They founded their civilizations in north-eastern Italy between the Appenine mountain range and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Their civilization stretched from the Arno river in the north to the Tiber river towards the center of the Italian peninsula; it was on the Tiber river that sat a small village of Latins — the village that would become Rome.  So the Romans, who were only villagers during the rise of the Etruscan civilization, were in close contact with the Etruscans, their language, their ideas, their religion, and their civilization; the Etruscans were one of the single most important influences on Roman culture in its transition to civilization. They were a sophisticated people, with an alphabet, a tradition of original sculpture and painting, and a religion based on human-type gods.  All of these they passed down to the Romans.    [Debra Taylor]

Object: Lekythos

C/2001/1/42
Red Figure Lekythos
Southern Italy, Apulia
Apulian
Attributed to the Choes Painter
ca. 350 BCE
Materials: ceramic

This object is a red figure Apulian lekythos that is believed to have been painted by the Choes Painter. The Choes Painter is part of the Lecce Group of Apulian Red Figure vase painters. A similar lekythos, attributed to the Thrysus painter (also part of the Lecce Group) can be found in the Ure Museum, of the University of Reading.

Red Figure vase painting was developed in Athens around 530 BCE and quickly surpassed Black Figure vase painting in popularity. Attic Red Figure vases were highly prized trade items and by the mid-5th century BCE workshops specializing in Red Figure pottery began to be found in Greek colonial areas such as Southern Italy. Before long the Red Figure vases of Apulia were comparable in artistic quality with those produced in Athens.

Apulian vase painting is commonly divided into two main styles, the “Plain” style and the “Ornate” (or “Rich”) style. The “Ornate” style is found mainly on large vessels like volute kraters or amphorae and, like the name suggests, is characterized by elaborate painted scenes sometimes containing up to twenty human figures. “Ornate” style decoration also tends to use a wider range of colors in its decoration, including lots of yellow and white painted areas. Meanwhile, “Plain” style vases tend to be small and the decoration is kept simple, with typically no more than a few human figures. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Vase

EU-3-?-2
Pottery Vase

Italy, Southern Europe
before 1967
Materials: clay, glazes

Museums often hold objects and collections about which frustratingly little is known. This attractive vase is of considerable value to the Division of Ethnology at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History because it is one of only a few objects of material culture in its collections that are sourced to Europe. The field of anthropology aspires to understand and interpret the human story across space and time. In museums, this lofty goal is difficult to pursue when anthropological collections are unevenly patterned, either temporally or spatially. Less than one quarter of one percent of the SNOMNH collection comes from Europe. Thus for purposes of, for instance, doing a student exhibition on pottery around the world, this vase would be a crucial resource. Here is where the lack of adequate documentation accompanying this object reappears as a problem to be dealt with. Can you help? Do you know something about the kind of pottery that this piece exemplifies? Museum records suggest that it is from Italy, but even this fact is a bit uncertain. If you can help SNOMNH understand this item better, let us know what you know via a comment to this weblog or via email to dcswan (at) ou (dot) edu. [Jason Baird Jackson]