A Merrythought Cup from Sardis Author(s): Nancy Hirschland Ramage Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 87, No. 4 (Oct., 1983), pp. 453-460 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/504103 Accessed: 09/10/2008 11:11

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http://www.jstor.org A MerrythoughtCup from Sardis* NANCY HIRSCHLAND RAMAGE

(Pls. 63-65) To George M.A. Hanfmann

Abstract world, including Olympia, Delphi, Rhodes and After a review of the characteristicsof the merry- Athens.1In the Persian destructionlevel of the Athe- thought cup-a rare shape in Attic pottery-a list of all nian acropolis many examples, which had belonged known examples is presented.Then, a merrythoughtcup to votive were to Boardmanhas which was discoveredon the of Sardis in 1960 cups, brought light. akropolis that the Attic who translated the is fully describedfor the first time. On one side it shows suggested potter warriorsengaged in battle, and on the other, the Calydo- metal prototype into terracottamight have been the nian boar hunt. Painter of Athens 533 or Ergotimos,2both of whom Peculiaritiesof the asymmetricalcomposition of Side fashioned a footless cup with merrythought handles.3 A, the battle scene, are analyzed and a hypothesisis sug- If Boardman is correct, then the more typical merry- gested: that the painter improvised so as to include a with a tall stem was the second in the scene with an unusual helmet with horns and ears pro- thought cup step jecting from it. A series of errorsand miscalculationssug- development. gests the last-minute change of composition. This type of cup is unusual in Greek pottery, and The work of the Painter of the Sardis Merrythought even during the twenty years or so when it was made Cup grows out of the tradition of the C Painter and the in Attic black-figure workshops-from the 560s to the Painter of Acropolis 606, and is near that of the Painter 540s B.C.4-potters chose this In of the Boston Polyphemos.This piece is a notable addi- shape only rarely. tion to the corpusof high quality cups of the middleof the fact, the examples known to me in the black-figure 6th century B.C. technique number only in the thirties. As can be seen from the Table5 which follows (p. 454), the type was The merrythought cup, whose name is derived found in Athens itself, in other parts of Greece, and from the British term for "wishbone," is a shape dis- was exported to both Etruria and the east. tinguished especially by two wishbone handles with a It is not clear why so few examples of black-figure knob on each; other characteristics are a rounded merrythought cups have come down to us, nor why hemispherical bowl and a tall stem with wide flaring the period when they were made was so short; it is foot. The shape depends upon a metallic prototype, to intriguing to note, on the other hand, that the shape judge by the thin wall of the bowl and in particular by may have held some kind of antiquarian interest the knobs on the handles. Bronze wishbone handles which inspired a few red-figure potters to imitate it a have been discovered at several sites in the Greek century later.

* I should like to thank the following scholars for their help at 1964) 46 and pl. 1:a. 2 various stages in the preparationof this article: G. Bakir, D. von J. Boardman,Athenian Black Figure Vases (New York 1974) Bothmer, K.P. Erhart, C.H. Greenewalt, jr., D.G. Mitten, A. 32. Ramage, B.S. Ridgway and M. Torelli. The work was made possi- 3 ABV 68.1 and 79; nos. 4 and 5 in my Table infra. ble through the assistance of a research grant from the National 4 F. Villard accepts 565-545 B.C. as the period for the merry- Endowmentfor the Humanities. thought cup: "L'evolution des coupes attiques a figures noires 1 Olympia: A. Furtwangler, Olympia 4 (1890) 147-48, pl. 55, (580-480)," REA 48 (1946) 161-62, 180. Also A. De Agostino, no. 926 and especiallyno. 912; Delphi: P. Perdrizet,FdD 5 (1908) "Tazze con anse a bottone della Collezione Vagnonville,"StEtr 13 75, no. 314, fig. 254; Rhodes: Biliotti excavations, mentioned by (1939) 502. Cf. also P. Mingazzini, Vasi della Collezione Castel- Furtwangler, loc. cit.; Athens: A.D. Keramopoullos, Deltion 1 lani I ( 1930) 333-36; Development23; B.A. Sparkesand L. (1915) 20-22 (of 7rapadpr-ja),figs. 1-7, and A.H.P. de Ridder, Talcott, The AthenianAgora 12. Black and Plain Potteryof the 6th, Cataloguedes bronzestrouves sur l'acropoled'Athenes (Paris 1896) 5th and 4th CenturiesB.C. (Princeton 1970) 56, n. 3. 5 51, no. 152. Ultimately the wishbone handles are descendedfrom I thank D. von Bothmerfor checkingmy Table, and for draw- sources in the Aegean of the Middle and Late Bronze Age: H.W. ing my attentionto nos. 12 and 23-26. Catling, Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World (Oxford

453 454 NANCY HIRSCHLAND RAMAGE [AJA 87

TABLE

1. Rhodes, from Ialysos ABV 57.113. C Painter 2. Wiirzburg 451, from Corinth ABV 57.114. C Painter 3. Athens Akr. 2144, from Athens ABV 57.115. C Painter (probably a merrythought) 4. Athens 14907, from Thebes ABV 68.1. Painter of Athens 533 (footless cup with merrythought handles) 5. 3151, from Aegina ABV 79. Ergotimos (footless cup with merrythought handles) 6. Athens Akr. (b 140), from Athens ABV 80. Similar cup fragment (perhaps merrythought) 7. Kerameikos Mus., from Athens ABV 113.81. Lydos (perhaps merrythought) 8. Athens Akr. 1492, from Athens ABV 113.82. Lydos (perhaps merrythought) 9. Athens Akr., from Athens ABV 115.8. Manner of Lydos (merrythought or the like) 10. Rhodes, from Ialysos ABV 198.1. Marmaro Painter 11. Athens Akr. 1481, from Athens ABV 198.2. Marmaro Painter (merrythought, proto-A, or the like) 12. Laon 37.986 CVA Laon, pl. 19, 1-3. Marmaro Painter 13. Boston 99.518 ABV 198. Painter of the Boston Polyphemos 14. Munich 2016, from Vulci ABV 199. "Recalls the Painter of the Boston Polyphemos" (Beazley) 15. Manisa 2137, from Sardis "In the neighborhood of the Painter of the Boston Polyphemos" (Von Bothmer). Now the Painter of the Sardis Merrythought Cup 16. Villa Giulia 50586, from Cerveteri Paralipomena 71; P. Mingazzini, Vasi della Collezione Castellani I (Rome 1930) no. 614 17. Villa Giulia, from Cerveteri Mingazzini, Castellani I no. 615 18. Berlin 1672, from Kameiros JdI 46 (1931) 49, fig. 3 19. Berlin 3972 K.A. Neugebauer, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Fiihrer durch das Antiquarium. II. Vasen (Berlin 1932) 64 20. Vatican, from Vulci C. Albizzati, Vasi antichi dipinti del Vaticano (Rome n.d.) no. 369, 153-54, figs. 93-94 21. Leiden, from Vulci CVA Leiden 2, pls. 57-58 22. Chios, Emporio 687 J. Boardman, Excavations in Chios 1952-1955. Greek Emporio (BSA Supp. 6, London 1967) 155 23. Greifswald 270 A. Hundt and K. Peters, Greifswalder Antiken (Berlin 1961) pl. 21 (perhaps a Siana cup) 24. Bucharest, from Histria Inv. V 8933 and inv. V 8458 25. Cup, now lost G. Micali, Monumenti per servire alla storia degli antichi popoli italiani (Florence 1832) pl. 100,2 26. Cup Private Collection, Basel 27. Florence, from Chiusi A. De Agostino, StEtr 13 (1939), Vagnonville Coll., no. 37, pl. 46 28. Florence, from Chiusi A. De Agostino, StEtr 13 (1939), Vagnonville Coll., no. 38, pl. 47 29. Florence, from Chiusi A. De Agostino, StEtr 13 (1939), Vagnonville Coll., no. 39, pl. 48 30. Florence, from Chiusi A. De Agostino, StEtr 13 (1939), Vagnonville Coll., no. 40, pl. 49 31. Florence, from Chiusi A. De Agostino, StEtr 13 (1939), Vagnonville Coll., no. 41, pl. 50

About a century after the black-figure series of merrythought cups, the shape was revived by the Sotades Painter, who made two known examples in white-ground; others in his workshop followed him in red-figure:

32. London D 6, from Athens (WG) ARV2 763.1; Sotades Painter 33. London D 5, from Athens (WG) ARV2 763.2; Sotades Painter 34. Brussels A 890, from Athens (RF) ARV2 771.1; Akin to Sotades Painter 35. Brussels A 891, from Athens (RF) ARV2 771.2; Akin to Sotades Painter 36. Leipzig T 954, from Greece (RF) ARV2 771.3; Akin to Sotades Painter 37. Boston 03.791, from Greece (RF) ARV2 771.4; Akin to Sotades Painter

To these add also a red-figure cup-skyphos with wishbone handles:

38. Athens 1237 (CC. 1216) ARV2 865.3; Painter of Athens 1237

A handful of cups with wishbone handles, but with no painted decoration, may also be considered.

39. Boston 13.4503, from Athens ARV2 771.1; Attic, undecorated 40. Corinth C53-157 E. Brann, Hesperia 25 (1956) 361, no. 35, pl. 56 (red to black glaze) 41. Corinth C 53-154 E. Brann, no. 36 (red to black glaze) 42. Corinth, Potters' Quarter KP 15 E. Brann, ref. under no. 35 (white style) 43. Athenian Agora P2319 B. Sparkes and L. Talcott, Agora 12, no. 67 44. Athenian Agora P16753 Sparkes and Talcott, Agora 12, no. 68 1983] A MERRYTHOUGHT CUP FROM SARDIS 455

The preceding survey of merrythoughtcups was distinguish each man from his neighbor. Two of the stimulated by a study of an Attic black-figurecup of linen corslets are white, with flaps at the bottom; the this shape which was found in the excavationsof the others are purple, and decorated with white or black acropolis at Sardis.6 It is especially interesting be- details. Of the twelve helmets, nine are purple, but cause it is a particularly fine example of the shape, three are black; crests are in purple, black, or purple and is decoratedwith unusual finesseand elaboration. and white, and one has incised striations. Each helmet When the vase was found in 1960, about seventyfrag- has white-painted dots at the forehead, cheekpiece ments, some of them very small, were recovered.Orig- and along the nose-guard. The thick white paint used inal parts preservedon the newly restored cup (pls. for the arm-bands makes a striking contrast to the 63, fig. A, 65, fig. 5; ill. 1) include most of the deep purple interiors of the shields.7 bowl with slightly everted rim, one complete wish- The off-center clash of the main battle scene is bone handle and part of the other. The foot and stem made up of five warriors attacking from left to right, have been entirely restored.The very thin walls, with opposed by two attacking from right to left. The meet- a thickness of 0.002 to 0.003 m., are more delicate ing of the two "armies" (pl. 63, fig. B) is emphasized than on most merrythoughtcups, and the minimally by the space between them, and by the particular at- everted curve of the rim is an unusual characteristic. tention awarded the shields of the two central war- The diameter of the bowl, 0.175 m., is smaller than riors (pl. 63, fig. C), one of which has the device of a the more commonsize of 0.20 to 0.23 m. frontal bull's head8 (pl. 64, fig. 2). In front of these warriors, two stooping men grasp the hands and feet of a fallen warrior; the visual arc formed by these three figures effectively links the two groups behind them. This scheme is common in Greek vase painting, and the main scene is related to numerous represen- tations where a central fallen figure visually binds the opposing sides.9 On our example, however, most of the body of the fallen warrior lies before the left-hand group, and the contrast of five marching fighters on the left opposing two on the right is striking.10 The battle scene cannot be as Ill. 1. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: profile recognized any spe- cific episode in the Iliad or another epic, but we might The remarkable delicacy of the cup walls and the speculate on the identity of the two stooping figures. elegance of its shape are matched by the refinement of The one on the left is naked, and the one on the right the painted scenes. Side A, which shows warriors en- may be also; his body is completely covered by his gaged in battle (pls. 63, fig. A, 64, figs. 1-3; ill. 2), has shield, decorated with a rosette device,1" so we cannot much the finer details. Immediately noticeable is the be sure. Besides their different attire, these two fig- rich use of color and patterns, which are employed to ures are notably smaller than anyone else in the scene, 6 Excavation inv. no. P60.599 3116; Manisa Museum inv. no. bridge, Mass. 1902) 99-100. On our cup, part of another bull- 2137. I am grateful to G.M.A. Hanfmann for permissionto pub- only an ear and a horn-may be seen on the shield of the second lish this piece. The photographswere taken by several membersof warrior from the left (pl. 64, fig. 1). the Sardisexcavation 9 staff;the drawingsare by the author.Thanks Cf. the group under the handlesof the Exekias cup in Munich, are due the staff of the Manisa Museum and the Director, Kubilay ABV 146, no. 21; P.E. Arias and M. Hirmer, A History of 1000 for their to allow me to Nayir, willingness study this cup on the site Yearsof Greek VasePainting (New York n.d.) pl. 59; and a merry- at Sardis, and to C.H. Greenewalt,jr., field director,for his ready thought cup in Berlin: W. Zschietzschmann,"Homer und die at- and advice. The was cooperation helpful piece found by Donald tische Bildkunst um 560," JdI 46 (1931) 49, fig. 3; no. 18 in my Hansen, who painstakingly searched for fragments. Cf. G.M.A. Table. Hanfmann, "The Third Campaignat Sardis (1960)," BASOR 162 10For another off-centerbattle, see E. Rohde, "Drei Sianascha- 19. (1961) 34-36, fig. len der Berliner Antikensammlung,"in A. Cambitogloued., Stud- 7 The is Munsell Color purple Chart 7.5 R 3/2, "duskyred." ies in Honour of Arthur Dale Trendall (Sydney 1979) pls. 38-39. On the of a see A.M. parts shield, Snodgrass,Arms and Armourof On the study of compositionin Greek vase painting, see J. Board- the Greeks(Ithaca 1967) 53. For an actual example of this kind of man, "Exekias,"AJA 82 (1978) 11. see E. 1 armband, Kunze, OlBer 6 (1958) fig. 87. For a similar deviceon an amphoraby the Camtar Painter, see 8 A similar device is on a hydria of the Leagros Group, ABV CVA Boston (I) pl. 16; also Chase (supra n. 8) 118. For another no. 362, 33; Boardman(supra n. 2) fig. 204. For other bull's-head merrythoughtcup with rosette and bull's-head devices, see CVA see G.H. devices, Chase, The Shield Devices of the Greeks (Cam- Leiden (2) 4, pls. 57-58; no. 21 in my Table. 456 NANCY HIRSCHLAND RAMAGE [AJA 87

Ill. 2. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side A

and it seems possible that they might be not simply the horns13;on other examples, as on ours, we find comrades, but personifications like Sleep and Death, ears and horns on a single helmet. We may be confi- although here without an explicit identification.12 dent that in our battle scene the warrior thus singled On the far right, near the handle, a separate skir- out is a foreigner rather than a Greek, and that a mish takes place between a pair of warriors, one of Lydian, as well as an Athenian, would recognizethat whom has just plunged his spear into the chest of his his helmet was exotic. opponent (pls. 63, fig. D, 64, fig. 3). Their nakedness Our painting, then, depicts on the right a combat helps to set them off from the main group of warriors between two individuals-a Greek and a non-Greek, to the left. Also, in contrast to all the other figures, the latter of whom is the loser. He is collapsing onto who wear low-crested Corinthian helmets, the man at one knee from the forceof the spear, which enters and the far right (pl. 64, fig. 3) wears a helmet decorated re-emergesfrom his chest. The warrior wears an ar- with the horns and ears of an ox-a combination chaic smile on his lips as he falls in battle. which is rare but not unknown in the Greek world. The separate combat of these two men at the far Herodotos speaks of a tribe, perhaps the Pisidians, right is emphasized by the directionalchange of the who "wore helmets of bronze, with the ears and horns spear held by the victor and by his position, with his of oxen wrought in bronze.. ." (7.76). On Attic pot- back to the main scene. Duel combat scenes are not tery, an army of foreigners sometimes includes one unusual, and they occur either singly, as the main man wearing a helmet with ears, and another wearing subject,14or in multiples, as a patternof groups, 5 but 12 On this subject see, most recently, D. von Bothmer, "The thasiennea figuresnoires," BCH 83 (1959) 437-54 and fig. 4, with Death of Sarpedon,"in S.L. Hyatt ed., The Greek Vase (Troy, a discussion of the helmet types and bibliography.See also H.L. New York 1981) 63-80. Lorimer, Homer and the Monuments (London 1950) 240; E. 13 See, e.g., the fragmentfrom Lindos, which was thoughtto be of Rohde (supra n. 10) 137, pls. 38-39; and, more recently,G.F. Pin- Ionian manufactureby E. Blinkenberg(Lindiaka II-IV [Det Kg. ney and B.S. Ridgway, Aspectsof Ancient Greece (Allentown Art Danske VidenskabernesSelskab. Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser Museum, Allentown 1979) 40, 86. XI, 4 (1926)] 39-46), but of Attic origin by C. Kardara("Problems 14K. Schefold,Myth and Legend in Early GreekArt (New York of Hera's Cult Images,"AJA 64 [1960] 351); cf. also Blinkenberg, 1966) pl. 76 C. Lindos, Fouilles de l'acropole (1902-14) I (Berlin 1931) pls. 15 ABV 57, no. 114 (a merrythoughtcup by the C Painter, no. 2 126-27. Sometimesa helmet has the ears and antlers of a stag: cf. a in my Table); or ABV 58, no. 122, Arias and Hirmer (supra n. 9) fragment by the Painter of Acropolis 606: N. Weill, "Ceramique fig. 48 (a tripod kothonby the same painter). Cf. also De Agostino 1983] A MERRYTHOUGHT CUP FROM SARDIS 457

the arrangementon our cup suggests that the pair at 6) one leg of the left warrior has been omitted, and the right was an afterthought-inspired, perhaps, by one also of the man behind him. a piece like the Siana cup in Berlin which depicts nu- The first four points suggest that the painter origi- merous warriors with horned and eared helmets.16 nally expectedto place the figure of the foreignerfar- Could it be that our painter, intrigued by the idea of ther to the right, but becauseof the handle he ran out addinga non-Greekwith his unusual helmet, decided of room. Since these kinds of errors do not occur in at the last minute to improvise? other sections of the drawing, we may postulate an Some supportfor this suggestionmay lie in the fact element of experimentationand guess work (and pos- that in this right-handpair the painter has made sev- sibly haste). Perhaps the painter followed a model for eral mistakesnot found elsewhere on the cup (pl. 64, the main scene, but left out the balancingright-hand fig. 3; ill. 2): figures to make room for the extra pair. 1) the outline of the shield held by the warrior on the left runs into the chest of the man on the right, Side B depicts the Calydonian boar hunt. The although it should disappearbehind him; scheme can be made out easily despite a fair amount 2) the spear point meant to go into the chest in ef- of damage (pls. 64, fig. 4; 65, figs. 5-6; ill. 3). Two fect is drawn as going into the shield; hunters at the left and two at the right, with Atalanta 3) the left hand of the left warrior holds the leather between the latter two, attack a boar in the center. A thong of his shield, but the strap is incorrectlyshown hunting dog has leapt upon the animal's back (pl. 63, in front of the opponent'schest; fig. E). The hunters at the left are in nearly identical 4) the line marking the front of the victim's torso poses, their right hands wielding spears, their left cuts through his hand, which is nearer to us than the raised with fists clenched. Slung across each man's torso; shoulderis a white-dottedbaldric supporting a sword 5) a double line with dots appears on the victim's on his left side. All four hunters are nude, but each left arm, implying the edge of a sleeve, but the rest of carriesa decoratedchlamys over his left shoulderand his torso is clearly shown as naked; arm. The one at the far right holds a trident, the end

- ,, ; == d s:^ - r - :

i / I IlI .-- i

Ill. 3. Sardis,merrythought cup: side B

n. no. 16 (supra 4) 40, pp. 506-507 and pl. 49 (a merrythoughtcup, Rohde (supra n. 10) pls. 37-39, figs. 7-12. no. 30 in my Table). 458 NANCY HIRSCHLAND RAMAGE [AJA 87 of which is preservedabove Atalanta's head (pl. 63, Of the figural portion of the tondo, only the legs fig. F). Beardsand hair are painted purple, as are the and buttock of a running nude male remain (pl. 65, nipples of the man at the right;anatomical details are fig. 8). He must have been carrying something, per- incised. haps a sword in a sheath (ill. 4), or a rhyton or wine Only the head, left shoulderand foot of Atalantaare skin, because a small purple-painted,rounded tip of preserved(pl. 65, fig. 6). She must be runningforward an objectremains at the right. The tondo is reminis- with one leg stretchedbehind. Her face and foot are cent of other merrythoughtcups, one with running painted white, and incision has been used to outline warriors,19 and another, by Ergotimos, showing her almond-shapedeye, eyebrow and ear; purple is Herakles.20A partially preserved inscription encir- addedfor the pupil, the fillet in her black hair and the cling the running man has the letters INO[ at his left three-dottedearring. Her sleeve too is purple, but the side; continuingthe circle on his right are several let- bottomof her dressis blackwith a double-lineborder. ters which should probably be read as a garbled On the black boar, whose hindquartersand spind- EnOIESEN. ly legs are preserved,incision is used for bristles and I ' for internal details. The on his back is dog painted 9, white (pl. 63, fig. E). Immediately in front of the / / I~~~~ dog's foreleg is a tiny bit of purple paint, indicatinga 1 j spurt of blood, and an extra spear in front of the hunter just at the right must already have been I /~~~I plunged into the boar. The compositionon Side B is more symmetricalthan on Side A, and the figures are more widely spaced, following the common scheme for this subject.17 An inscription running below the rim on Side B reads (pl. 63, figs. E-F): XAIPEKAIII[IE H]YS "Drink and be merry.""Boar." The exhortationto "enjoy"has been borrowedby our Ill. 4. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: tondo painterfrom Little Master cups, where the greetingis common.The labelling of the boar has a parallel on a The outside flat edge of the handles is dividedinto cup showing the same subject, where the full word four panels with alternating stars and chevrons, HY$ is preservedabove the Calydonianboar.'8 painted black but not elaborated with incision; the Under each handle of the Sardiscup is a man walk- panels are framed by painted vertical lines and zig- ing right (pl. 65, fig. 7); he is drapedin a purple chla- zags (ill. 5). The geometricpatterns used on the han- mys borderedby a black band with purple spots and dles are not common on mid-6th century Attic pot- white dots around them, similar to the drapery pat- tery,21but are frequent on East Greek orientalizing tern of two of the hunters. The right arm is held in wares, which were still currentat this time.22Perhaps front of the body, and the left is raised in greeting or the workshop preparedthis piece specificallyfor ex- admonition. port to Asia Minor. The decorativepatterns on the

17 See, e.g., the Francoisvase, ABV 76, no. 1; Arias and Hirmer 59 (1934) 1-8, supplementaryfig. 1.4 (no. 4 in my Table). (supra n. 9) pl. 42; and a band cup signed by Archiklesand Glau- 20 ABV 79, no. 5 in my Table; the cup is in Berlin. kytes, ABV 163, no. 2; Arias and Hirmer, pl. 50. On the Calydo- 21 But see a close parallel, found at Tocra: J. Boardmanand J. nian boar hunt, R.S. Young, "A Black-FiguredDeinos," Hesperia Hayes, Excavationsat Tocra 1963-1965: The Archaic Deposits 1 4 (1935) 430-41; P. de La Coste-Messeliere,Au Musee de Delphes (BSA Supplementaryvol. no. 4, Oxford 1966) no. 1158, pl. 86, (Paris 1936) 120-52; D. von Bothmer,"An Attic Black-figuredDi- where a Hermogeneanskyphos has a similar pattern. nos," BMFA 46 (1948) 42-48; R. Blatter, "Dinosfragmentemit 22 See, e.g., for the star pattern, C. Kardara, POAIAKH AF- der kalydonischenEberjagd," AntK 5 (1962) 45-47, pl. 16; G. Dal- rEIOrPAAIA (Athens 1963) fig. 163.16, from Fikellura; for the trop, Die kalydonischeJagd (Hamburg 1966). zigzag, see fig. 278; for chevrons,figs. 279 and 284; for the V-design 18 Band cup by the pottersArchikles and Glaukytes (supra n. 17). the area between the 262. Cf. also D.A. 19 filling chevrons, fig. W. Kraiker,"Eine Prothesis-Schaleim Kerameikos,"AthMitt Jackson, East GreekInfluence on Attic Vases(London 1976). 1983] A MERRYTHOUGHT CUP FROM SARDIS 459

The painter of the Sardis merrythoughtcup liked to draw heavythighs and large heads. He workedwell in white overpaint,and was liberal in his use of pur- ple. Our painter had the potential for detailed and fine work, carriedout without clutteringthe scene or losing too much outline. On the other hand, he could also be careless, as we noted on the right side of the battle scene. Dietrich von Bothmer attributedthe Sardis cup to Ill. 5. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: handle an artist in the neighborhoodof the Painter of the Boston who is named for a interior and exterior of the Sardis cup are carefully Polyphemos,27 merry- in Boston.28 that an- painted, but the exterior design on the handle straps thought cup Beazley suggested other in Munich recalled the Bos- has been crudely applied. This difference in the qual- merrythoughtcup ton and this too resembles the work of our ity of decoration between the bowl and handles is typ- cup29 Both the Bostonand Sardis have a ical of merrythought cups. It is hard to imagine the painter. cups single male to the under the same painter doing both, and one wonders if the job draped figure walking right handles. The of both like to their was delegated to a "handle painter" or an apprentice. painters cups drape in a without The figured scenes display a vocabulary of details figures simplifiedchlamys folds, open in which fits well within the established Attic tradition. front, and decoratedwith a rosette. In the bodies, in- ternal details are both The master of the Sardis cup might have learned from similar; prefer heavy thighs and draw somewhat careless hands and feet. But the the Painter of Acropolis 606, who also depicted elabo- of the Sardis is much freer with his use of rate battle scenes, but on larger pots and, like our painter cup white. The of our masterto the Painter of painter, had a preference for decorating his soldiers' relationship armor with small white dots.23 But he was surer and the Boston Polyphemoslies partly in the arrangement of on one side a violent and active and more careful with his line, and more delicate, espe- figures: scene, on the who are cially in drawing hands, helmets and drapery. Anoth- other, standing, separated figures neverthelessunified in a action. er master who probably influenced ours is the C single The Painter of the Sardis Painter, who loved color, and used similar border pat- Merrythought Cup, whom we shall call is a terns.24 His preference for minute detail, both linear by that name, little later than the Painter of 606 and the C and added in paint, is reflected in some of the de- Acropolis Painter, and is close to the Painter of the Boston tails on our cup. The large-scale battle with small- Polyphemos,who is scale warriors-who, however, show considerable dated 550-525 B.C.30 In fact we should place our ca. 550 strength-is also similar. And we know that the C piece B.C., along with the earlier Little Mas- ter which it imitatesin Painter also decorated a merrythought cup.25 But cups its inscription,and among the most delicate and finest of this again, he was more delicate and did not have so many examples distinc- tive overlapping figures. Perhaps our painter knew Ly- shape. dos-the was a and Lydian-who contemporary, ADDENDUM who also may have decorated at least two merry- thought cups.26 On footless cups with knobs on the handles, cf. D. Calli-

23 For his namepiece, see ABV81,no. 1;Development pls. 13.1-2, (supra n. 19) 1-18. See G.M.A. Richter, "Lydos," MMS 4 14.1; B. Graef, Die antiken Vasen von der Akropolis zu Athen (1932-33) 177-78, on his eastern origin; also M.A. Tiverios, 'O (Berlin 1925) pl. 30; J. Charbonneaux,R. Martin and F. Villard, AvuSboKaL rTyo rTOV(Deltion Demosieumata23, Athens 1976). ArchaicGreek Art (620-480 B.C.) (New York 1971) fig. 70. 27 Attributionmade by letter, December 5, 1960, and reaffirmed 24 Cf. the leaves on the interior of his tripod-kothon, CA in November 1979. 616: ABV 58, no. 122; Arias and Hirmer (supra n. 9) pl. 48. Also 28 ABV 198; Boston CVA (2) 30-32, pl. 88, no. 13 in my Table; Development 21-25, pls. 8-10; and Beazley, "The Troilus Cup," Beazley wonderedif the artist of this cup might have been : MMS 5 (1934-36) 93-115. JHS 52 (1932) 196. 25 Supra n. 15; no. 2 in my Table. 29 ABV 199; no. 14 in my Table. 26 Nos. 7 and 8 in my Table. ABV 113, nos. 81-82 and Kraiker 30Marion True, CVA Boston (2) 31. 460 NANCY HIRSCHLAND RAMAGE [AJA 87 politis-Feytmans,"La coupe apode a boutons en Attique et Hayes, Excavationsat Tocra 1963-1965: The ArchaicDe- le peintre d'Athenes533," BCH 103 (1979) 195-215. posits I (BSA Suppl. 4) no. 1162, pp. 106, 108-109, pl. 86. A piece which may be related to the footless merry- thought cup by Ergotimos,my Table no. 5, is a "bowlwith ART HISTORY PROGRAM spurredhandles," with painted red lines on the exteriorand ITHACA COLLEGE black glaze inside, from Tocra. See J. Boardman and J. ITHACA, NEW YORK I4850 RAMAGE PLATE 6 3

FIG.A. Sardis,merrythought cup: side A

FIG.B. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side A, FIG.C. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side A, FIG.D. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side A, detail of central warriors detail of centralshields and head of detail of warriorat right crouching warrior

FIG.E. Sardis,merrythought cup: side FIG.F. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side B, detail of hunter and top of B, detail of hunter, boar and dog head of Atalanta

Ilhe puhlication of thi.s color plate has been partially supp orted hy the generous gift of the Science Press, Ephrata, Pennsylvania FIG. I. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side A, detail of left group FIG. 2. Sardis, merrythought cup: side A, detail of central warriors

FIG. 3. Sardis, merrythought cup: side A, detail of right group FIG. 4. Sardis, merrythought cup: side B, detail of left hunters and boar with dog on his back FIG. 5. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: side B FIG. 6. Sardis, merrythought cup: side B, detail of right end with hunter and Atalanta

FIG. 7. Sardis, merrythought cup: handle area FIG. 8. Sardis, merrythoughtcup: interior