Lot 109
109
AN ATTIC RED-FIGURE CHOUS
PROPERTY OF MR. FRANK STARK
AN ATTIC RED-FIGURE CHOUS

CIRCA 430 B.C.

Details
AN ATTIC RED-FIGURE CHOUS
circa 430 b.c.
With a pygmy in battle with a crane, the pygmy reaching up to grasp the flying crane by the neck, and raising a club in his right hand, the pygmy depicted nude, bearded and balding, with dilute glaze for his hairy chest, a band of dotted tongue above the scene
4¼in. (10.8cm.) high

Lot Essay

There are several variations in Greek mythology regarding the battle between the pygmies and the cranes. According to Hecataeus of Miletus, the pygmies fight to protect their fields from the migrating cranes who hated them becuase of their small size. The pygmies retaliated by stealing the crane's eggs and young. The battles depicted on Greek vases, beginning with the François Vase, are perhaps best considered as representations of the theater. See Swindler, "A Terracotta Altar in Corinth," in AJA 36 (1962), pp. 515-517.