Day 50 - Daunian flask
May 1, 2018
It's vases, vases everywhere in galley 161, but their interest value is redeemed for me by the fact that most were produced by Greeks living in southern Italy. Maybe it is my imagination, but many of the images seem to possess a vigor that was less noticeable to me in works from Greece proper; the use of more white in the palette also makes them distinctive.
I'm struck, too, by a group of small terracotta statuettes depicting stock figures from Greek theater. These were actually found in Greece, and why they're in this gallery, whose theme is Greek expansion into Italy, isn't altogether clear to me. But the figures of comic actors that show old men really are funny! They are short and bearded, with protruding bellies, and their penises and balls peek out from under their tunics. One has a finger in his mouth, another seems to be stifling a giggle (or maybe a yawn).
Today's object, though, isn't Greek at all but was made by the Daunians, one of the groups of native Italic peoples who lived in Puglia before its settlement by Greeks. And while I knew, I guess, that such people existed, I'd never seen, or maybe noticed, their art before. It appeals not because of its familiarity but because of its unfamiliarity.
The object is a terracotta flask with a spout and a handle, about 10 inches tall, from 330-300 B.C.E. I realize that by this time, the Greeks had been in southern Italy for many centuries, but this flask seems very different from the Greek ceramics. For one thing, instead of having a black ground and red figures, it's painted in black and ocher against a light tan background. The design on the top combines geometric elements (e.g., zigzag lines in the spout), vegetal elements, and fish. The sinuous curves of the fishes' bodies make use of the curvature of the top, as does a curving scroll pattern. No, it's not "refined," but it's playful and fun and reflects an appreciation for nature that's really refreshing.
I'm struck, too, by a group of small terracotta statuettes depicting stock figures from Greek theater. These were actually found in Greece, and why they're in this gallery, whose theme is Greek expansion into Italy, isn't altogether clear to me. But the figures of comic actors that show old men really are funny! They are short and bearded, with protruding bellies, and their penises and balls peek out from under their tunics. One has a finger in his mouth, another seems to be stifling a giggle (or maybe a yawn).
Today's object, though, isn't Greek at all but was made by the Daunians, one of the groups of native Italic peoples who lived in Puglia before its settlement by Greeks. And while I knew, I guess, that such people existed, I'd never seen, or maybe noticed, their art before. It appeals not because of its familiarity but because of its unfamiliarity.
The object is a terracotta flask with a spout and a handle, about 10 inches tall, from 330-300 B.C.E. I realize that by this time, the Greeks had been in southern Italy for many centuries, but this flask seems very different from the Greek ceramics. For one thing, instead of having a black ground and red figures, it's painted in black and ocher against a light tan background. The design on the top combines geometric elements (e.g., zigzag lines in the spout), vegetal elements, and fish. The sinuous curves of the fishes' bodies make use of the curvature of the top, as does a curving scroll pattern. No, it's not "refined," but it's playful and fun and reflects an appreciation for nature that's really refreshing.
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