Four Lekythoi in Chalcis

Abstract

There are in Chalcis Museum four black-figured lekythoi of sixth-century date. Two, nos. 567 and 569, were mentioned by Professor Haspels in Attic Black-figured Lekythoi 28 f., but the others have not, as far as I am aware, been noticed. None of them fits neatly into any Attic group, though three can be loosely connected with the Dolphin class. One is certainly from Styra. The finding-place of the others is not recorded, but there can be no doubt that they are from sites in Euboea. The close resemblance between Attic and Eretrian vase-painting makes it difficult to distinguish Atticising work made in Eretria from Attic imports, while so far black-figured vases of the archaic period from workshops in Chalcis have not been recognised. Nevertheless a study of the four lekythoi now in Chalcis reveals affinities with the few vases that are already known to be of Euboean origin and indicates that they should be classed with them rather than with Attic.The first, no. 960 (ht. 19·5 cm.) is seen on plate IX. 1–3 (2 is from the same negative as 1 with the red and white retouched). The shape of the vase can be seen in the illustrations and needs no comment. On the shoulder opening flowers, black with a central petal in applied white, alternate with red buds. On the body a panther faces a grazing stag with one group of four fine dots between them and another beneath the body of the stag. Though the general appearance of the vase is not noticeably unlike Attic some unusual features can be observed. First, the three gently curving brush strokes which emphasise and embellish the ribs of the panther are not accompanied by incised lines. Though it is common enough to find incision and no paint on this part of an animal, it is only very rarely that we find paint with no incision. For parallels we have to turn to two of the Eretrian grave amphorae in Athens. Both the Wedding and the Herakles amphorae show important vestiges of an earlier unincised style of painting, for on the first the whole of the back of the vase lacks incision, on the second the whole of the foot. Some scenes show a compromise between the incised and the unincised, part of the scene, or even part of a figure, lacking the usual incisions. So here, in the case of our panther, though incision is used on the head, legs and hindquarters, the ribs are merely painted, without the incised lines to which the painting is normally only an adjunct. See plate IX.2 and compare the ribs of the panther with those of the completely unincised lions on the back of the neck of the Eretrian Wedding amphora, BICS vi pl. 1.1. Further, as has already been pointed out in this Journal, the markings in red that brighten up the bodies of Eretrian animals are shapely and ornamental, generally tapering downwards. Between the incised lines on the hindquarters of both the panther and the stag we have decorative markings of this kind, broader at the top, making a gentle curve and tapering to a point at the base, while the three on the ribs of the panther, though smaller, are also well shaped.