established 1942
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established 1942
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| IMPORTANT ATTIC BLACK-FIGURE AMPHORA BY THE BATEMAN PAINTER Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion; Iolaos, Athena, Hermes/ Dionysos holding kantharos flanked by cavorting satyrs and a white-skinned maenad. Published: Summa, Ancient Art, Beverly Hills, 1976, no. 9. Ex Patricia Kluge collection, Charlottesville, Virginia, acquired from Royal-Athena in 1991. Ca. 540-530 BC H. 19 in. (48.3 cm.) Art of the Ancient World, 2011, no. 106 1,000 Years of Ancient Greek Vases, no. 36 PK0977K SOLD |
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Side A: Herakles stands in the center, locked in combat with the Nemean Lion, an invulnerable beast that terrorized the vicinity of Nemea, in the N.W. Peloponnese. Herakles strides to the right, his left arm wrapped around the lion’s neck and his left hand holding open its jaws. In a futile gesture, he stabs at the impervious hide of the beast with the sword in his right hand; a few other versions show the bent sword lying on the ground. Except for a red fillet and a sword scabbard, the red-bearded hero is naked. The lion braces one leg on Herakles’ left leg and drapes another over his hip. There are red spots on the mane and red stripes on the body. The teeth are white, the protruding tongue red. Unable to stab it, Herakles eventually strangled the lion and skinned it with one of his own claws. This is the first of Herakles’ labors, but in subsequent adventures he is usually shown wearing the lion’s skin. Iolaos, Herakles’ nephew and frequent companion, stands at the left holding Herakles’ club and gesturing excitedly. He wears a bronze bell-cuirass, a sword scabbard, and a short, red-striped chiton. At right is another frequent companion of Herakles, the goddess Athena, who was his special friend among the gods. The white-skinned goddess stands with her feet to the right, her torso frontal, and her head turned to the left. She holds a spear in her left hand and gestures with her right. Her belted peplos is decorated with red dots and incised crosses, some of them with white dots. Over this she wears the aegis, which is covered with scales and fringed with snakes, some of which have incised beards (normal on Greek snakes). Her Attic helmet has a tall crest and red stripes. At the far right stands Hermes, who is also present during many of Herakles’ labors. The red-bearded god wears a red-striped himation, winged boots, and a petasos (sun and rain hat) of the so-called Robin Hood type. In his left hand he carries his herald’s wand (kerykeion). Side B: The red-bearded Dionysos stands in the center, facing right. He wears an ankle-length chiton, and over this a himation with red-stripes and white rosettes. In his hair is an ivy wreath with red and black leaves. He is about to sip from the kantharos in his left hand (shown in side view). Facing Dionysos at right are two dancing satyrs, while behind him dance a third satyr and a white-skinned maenad. The satyrs all have red tails and red beards and forelocks. The satyr directly in front of Dionysos carries a wineskin tied with a small suspension loop. The line by the chest of the rightmost satyr is an accidental drip of black glaze. The maenad wears a peplos decorated with red dots and incised crosses. She holds her head with her right hand and carries a snake in her left. Herakles and Dionysos are the two figures most often depicted on Attic black-figure vases, and frequently appear on the same vase. Athena, patron deity of Athens, is a close third in popularity. Herakles’ battle with the Lion is perhaps the most commonly depicted of all his adventures. The subject first appears in vase-painting on Corinthian vases of the late 7th century B.C. The first Attic rendering is the work of the C Painter, around 575 B.C. The composition of this scene – Brommer’s Stehkampf V – is the most common in Attic black-figure; second in popularity are scenes of Herakles wrestling the lion on the ground (Liegekampf). For the subject, see F. Brommer, Heldensage, 3rd ed., 119-43; F. Brommer, Herakles: The Twelve Labors of the Hero in Art and Literature, New York, 1986, 7-11; and A. Steiner, Herakles and the Lion in Attic Art, 575-450 B.C., Diss. Bryn Mawr, 1981. Only five other vases have been attributed to the Bateman Painter, an artist Beazley placed among the followers of the Lysippides Painter; ABV 257-58; Paralipomena 114-15; Beazley Addenda 67. The Painter’s name-vase is in Cleveland, while others are in New York, Boston, and a Los Angeles private collection. Reconstructed from fragments, with only minor restoration. The shape is standard type B, with cylindrical handles, echinus foot, flaring mouth, and a continuous curving profile from rim to foot. There is a lotus and palmette festoon over the panel on side A, a band of lotus buds on side B. A band of rays, topped by a red stripe, circles the lower body. Red stripes circle the neck and foot. |
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