Vase Catalog Number: Harvard 1960.236

Inscriptions:

The inscriptions are nonsense.

Parallels:

The basic composition of the return of Hephaistos to Olympus dates back to the François Vase of Kleitias: Florence 4209; ABV, 76, 1. On another calyx-krater by the Kleophrades Painter (Louvre G 162; ARV2, 186, 47), Hephaistos rides his ithyphallic donkey side-saddle and is accompanied not only by Dionysos and satyrs, but also by ecstatic maenads and the god Hermes, who leads him to the seated Hera, still trapped on her throne through the trickery of her crafty son. The Harvard krater, in the painter's earliest style, is more robust and Archaic in feeling than the later version in Paris and reflects his training in the Pioneer workshop, probably under Euthymides; cf. the Dionysos and satyrs on two very early psykters by the Kleophrades Painter: Louvre G 57 and Compiègne 1068 (ARV2, 188, 65-66). On the Louvre krater, Hephaistos carries a tool very similar to the one on the Harvard vase, but the tongs which he also carries indicate it is probably a hammer, not an axe. For the goat-skin bellows, cf. the one on a volute-krater by Polion, also showing the Return of Hephaistos: Ferrara T.127; ARV2, 1171, 1. In Polion's version, the bellows lies on the ground with its nozzle stuck into the funnel that will channel the air to the forge. For similar nonsense-inscriptions, cf. those on the amphora Würzburg L 507 (ARV2, 181, 1), another early work of the Kleophrades Painter. Key pattern is an ornament much favored by the artist throughout his career; e.g. on the early kylix Paris, Cab. Méd. 535 and 699 (ARV2, 191, 103) and the later stamnos Tarquinia 711 (ARV2, 187, 59).

Collection History:

Gift of Frederick M. Watkins. Purchased from Jacob Hirsch in 1941.

Condition:

Broken and repaired, with cracks and missing pieces restored in plaster. There is only minimal repainting to complete simple outlines and to tint cracks and small gaps a neutral red or black. All earlier repainting has been removed. The largest gaps are in the satyrs over both handles, parts of Hephaistos and the donkey, and the rim above Dionysos' head. The surface is in generally good condition, but there is wear in some areas; e.g. the satyr with the kithara. Both handles are restored, as is half of the foot.

Shape Description:

As with most Archaic calyx kraters, the diameter is greater than the height. The wide foot is in two degrees, with a torus and riser. A fillet separates foot and body. The rim has the customary shape, in two degrees: torus above fascia. The handles may have been restored too slender and may not be at exactly the right angle.

Sources Used:

Watkins Catalogue 1973; Beazley, Kleophrades-Maler 1933.

Other Bibliography:

Lissarrague 1991, 273, fig. 2a-b.

(Michael Padgett)