AN ATTIC RED-FIGURED COLUMN-KRATER

CIRCA EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

AN ATTIC RED-FIGURED COLUMN-KRATER
CIRCA EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.
The obverse with a symposium scene, a bearded draped male reclining on his kline and playing the game of kottabos, a foot stool tucked underneath, holding a cup in his left hand, a kylix in his right, a bowl suspended in front; the reverse with a nude satyr running to the left, his head turned back, carrying a staff in his right hand
14 ¾ in. (37.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Private collection, Hamburg, acquired prior to 1977; and thence by descent to the present owner.
Beazley Archive no: 1552.

Exhibited

Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Kunst der Antike: Schätze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz, 21 January-6 March 1977.

Brought to you by

Francesca Hickin

fhickin@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3195

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
W. Hornbostel, Kunst der Antike - Schätze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Mainz, 1977, cat. no. 267.

The symposiast shown here is playing kottabos, a popular after-dinner game. To play, a participant would recline on his left elbow, and try to flick the last drops of wine from the bottom of his kylix held in his right hand across the room to hit a target - often something perched on a stand, or another reveller's cup. Here, the hanging bowl to the left of the scene is probably the target.

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