1960.362: South Italian Red-figure Fish Plate

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1960.362

Title

South Italian Red-figure Fish Plate

Classification

Vessels

Work Type

vessel

Date

350-320 BCE

Period

Classical period, Late, to Early Hellenistic

Culture

Greek

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/291205

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta

Technique

Wheel-made

Dimensions

5.5 x 24 cm (2 3/16 x 9 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

CVA: "from Capua; purchased in Naples."

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson

Accession Year

1960

Object Number

1960.362

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Campanian red-figured fish plate with low stem and broad, molded foot. Broad, shallow bowl with a central depression. Thick, curved rim, downturned beyond vertical.

Pale orangish-buff fabric. Underside of vessel is decorated with concentric rings of varying widths of black, brown, orange, and self slips. Underside of rim is slipped black. Red-figure ivy scroll with thin vines, ivy leaves outlined in added white, and white dot rosettes or berries decorate the rim. A red-figure wave pattern surrounds the central depression of the bowl.

The primary decoration on the floor of the plate includes representations of two types of fish - a bass and a two-banded bream - and a torpedo, with four small marine animals filling the background. Details are in black, dilute black and brown, and added white.

The torpedo has a round body, a knobby upper tail, and a long, thin lower tail that curves to the left. Dots in black and white appear on the body and upper portion of the tail. Round white eyes with black pupils. The body and tail are outlined in a very dilute brown slip.

The bass is long and narrow, with a pointed mouth. Its eye is composed of a black dot surrounded by a white circle. Six rows of hash marks run closely spaced and horizontally along the fish's body. His belly and lips are lined in added white. Details of fins and gills also added in white.

The two-banded bream is pear-shaped with a triangular jaw and snout. Its eye is similar to that of the bass, although its black pupil is slightly larger. Six horizontal rows of dots are evenly, and relatively broadly, spaced from dorsal to belly. A thick, black band marks the front of the body (just behind the head) and the end of the body (just in front of the tail). The belly and lips of the fish are lined in added white, and its fins and gills are detailed with the same white.

Decorating the background of the plate are two small, thin fish with much detail in added white, an almost wholly white scallop (?) shell, and a small squid, with long white tentacles.

In good condition. Long crack on underside. Central depression of bowl with some cracking, perhaps from improper compression in the throwing process.

Exhibition History

• The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961

Verification Level