| Collection: | Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum |
| Summary: | Side A: binding of Andromeda; pact between Perseus and Cepheus |
| Ware: | Apulian Red Figure |
| Painter: | Attributed to the Sisyphus Group |
| Date: | ca. 430 BC - ca. 420 BC |
| Dimensions: | H. to top of volutes 63.3 cm., h. to lip 53.0 cm., d. of mouth 37.5 cm., d. of body 38.0 cm., d. of foot 19.6 cm. |
| Shape: | Volute krater |
| Period: | High Classical |
Decoration Description:
There is pattern work on both sides of the mouth, neck and shoulder; only the handle zones interrupt it. On the edge of the lip is an egg-and-dot pattern, while the underside of the mouth has a laurel wreath running to the left. On the neck, a reserved relief band is decorated with short broad black strokes, and enclosed upright palmettes fill a black relief band between reserved stripes. The shoulder bears a tongue pattern divided by narrow black lines ending in a dot. A meander band interspersed with crossed squares with a stroke in each corner runs around the body under the scenes. On the handles, black ivy decorates the reserved outer edge of the volutes, and under the handles are two superposed palmettes with side scrolls branching out from the core. At the root of each handle is a small enclosed palmette fan.
On side A, Andromeda is pictured. On the left, a naked youth with a black-bordered chlamys fastened at his neck ties Andromeda's right arm to a cut-off tree trunk. The texture of the tree trunk, from which the two posts were cut, is shown in dilute glaze. Andromeda stands in three-quarter left profile, with her head fully turned. She is wearing a sleeveless chiton with a double dot stripe running down the front, as well as a plain double stripe on the side, and a crown decorated with a band of short vertical lines on the top edge and a lotus-palmette pattern beneath. Her curly, shoulder-length hair is partially covered by a dotted, fringed veil. On her feet are open sandals. She has a black earring and a pendant necklace. Her braceleted left arm, not yet bound, rests against the second post. Resting on the groundline between the youth and Andromeda is a chest, its front leg an animal foot. Dicing decorates the edge of its lid, while the body is covered with a tendril and circles and a swastika meander underneath. On top of the box is a kalathos, its structure indicated by straight lines and cross hatches, with a meander pattern above. A mirror hangs in the field behind Andromeda's head.
Perseus and Cepheus fill the other half of the scene. Perseus is wearing a bordered chlamys with a brooch fastening it at the neck, a winged Phrygian helmet with side flaps, and a winged shoe on his right foot (the left foot not seen). He is holding two spears in his left hand, and with his right he grasps Cepheus's right hand. Cepheus is dressed in a dot-patterned chiton and a broad belt covered with rosettes and squares divided by diagonal lines, with a dot in each segment. He is seated with a black-bordered cloak under him and around his knees, and he holds a lotus-tipped scepter in his left hand. His hair and beard are in added white, part of which is flaked off.
On the neck of side A, a lion faces right with his mane in relief and his mouth open. He is confronting a bull. On the far right, a bearded, balding satyr sits facing left on a rock, holding a thyrsos in his right hand.
In the main scene of side B are two youths and a woman. The barefooted woman at far left wears a sleeveless chiton with a double stripe down the front and a belt at the waist. She also has a headband, an earring, and a pendant necklace, and she stands three quarters to the right. A leopard with raised left foreleg is on her outstretched left arm. Standing in the center of the scene, looking toward the woman, are two youths. The first leans on a staff and wears a cloak that partially covers him, crossing his lower torso and passing over his left shoulder. He holds a strigil in his right hand. The second youth is naked, but he too has a cloak wrapped around his left arm and falling behind him. He appears to be pointing with his right arm at the leopard. On the far right another woman stands, dressed similarly to the first, except that the double stripe on her garment runs down the side, and she wears shoes. She checks her appearance in a mirror held in her right hand, as she uses her left hand to place a fillet around her head.
On the neck of side B, two dogs are pursuing a hare; all three figures run to the left.
Shape Description:
The broad mouth has an overhanging lip. The upper part of the neck is in two offset sections. The body is ovoid. The high volute handles are flanged in section and attached below to vertical handle loops. The ogival foot has an indented band at its join with the body; its edge is in two degrees.
Sources Used:
Other Bibliography: