The iconography of the tyrrhenian group of black-figure vases
- Autores: Julia Janicka
- Directores de la Tesis: Jesús Carruesco García (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Rovira i Virgili ( España ) en 2019
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Joaquín Ruiz de Arbulo (presid.), María Teresa Magadán Olives (secret.), P. Dyczek (voc.)
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: TDX
- Resumen
This doctoral thesis presents a complete study of the Athenian black figure vases attributed to the Tyrrhenian Group. The vases were manufactured in Athens during the first half of the 6th c. BC and exported to Etruria. The work discusses the characteristics, techniques and style of each of the eight painters who have been recognized as Tyrrhenian. An exhaustive catalogue gathers 232 vases with detailed information about every single piece. The focus of the study is set on the iconography of the vases. The depictions on the Tyrrhenian corpus are discussed and compared to vase paintings of both earlier and contemporary Athenian artisans. In some cases, it has been possible to trace the iconographic genesis of a specific mythological motif to pottery from Corinth, Laconia or Boeotia. The iconographic connection between the Tyrrhenian Group and the Etruscan production has also been established and analysed.
The main objectives of this work are: i) to evaluate previous attributions and add new findings to the Group, ii) to catalogue all the vases, analyse in detail their iconographic motives and place them on the map of Attic pottery, and iii) to establish their influence on the Etruscan pottery production, especially the Pontic Group. The justification for this thesis lies mainly in the necessity to update the current corpus of the Tyrrhenian Group, which is incomplete even in recent studies, and to correct some misattributions. Although the artisans of the Group were previously identified, the iconographic character of the Group within the larger frame of Attic and non Attic productions had not been the subject of detailed study. I also considered important to supplement the research and redefine, from a contemporary point of view, the reputation of the Group as one mainly depicting violent iconographic motives. The methodology used in this work is based on extensive research of Attic pottery from the first half of the 6th c. BC, as well as examples of mythological motives depicted. on Corinthian, Laconian, Boeotian and Etruscan vases, reliefs, fibulae and metopes. The main sources for the elaboration of the catalogue were found in the Beazley Archive Pottery Database, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, museum collections, auction houses` catalogues and visits to museums in person, for example: Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome; Antinkensammlungen, München; Antikensammlung, Berlin; and Archaeological Museum, Warsaw, to name just a few.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that the earliest excavations, carried out from the beginning of the 18th c, were not professional and had no regard for stratigraphic documentation, any kind of deeper analysis based on origin and archaeological is impossible, since out of 232 vases only 24% of them are of known provenance. Accordingly, the focus of the study has been put on the evolution of iconographic motives, with a special emphasis on the differences and similarities in the depiction of the themes among the Tyrrhenian Painters as well as outside the Group. Attention is also paid to the connections between the Attic painters and the Etruscan context to which the marketing of the vases was targeted, and to the study of the ways in which they influenced the Etruscan artisans, in particular the manner in which the Etruscan potters adapted, but not blindly copied, the iconography of particular myths. This action generated an added value for the resulting domestic production, as it was better adapted to local needs and tastes, and therefore contributed to the end of the Tyrrhenian production.
It has been proven that the vases recognized as Tyrrhenian are of Athenian origin. The petrographic analysis conducted by H. Kars confirmed that the clay used for Tyrrhenian vases is indistinguishable from the clay utilized for other Athenian pottery. The choices of shapes, ornamentations, selection of subjects, inscriptions and the manner of placing the decorations on the vases, all belong to the school of Athenian black figure pottery from the early 2nd quarter of the 6th c. BC. There are many parallels between the style of the Tyrrhenian Painters and the earlier, contemporary and later Athenian painters. The Group clearly took part in the evolution of Athenian pottery and more precisely fits between Sophilos and the Nikosthenic Group. The Tyrrhenian Group consisted of eight painters, whose 232 vases have been gathered in the catalogue. The most popular shape of the vessels was the neck amphora, with some hydriai and kraters. A dinos and an oinochoe were also documented. We can distinguish eight artistic styles of decoration and eight techniques of potting. Each group of shapes was painted by a different artisan. The artists not only decorated the vases but also manufactured them, which makes them potter-painters.
The focus of the analysis is placed on the iconography of the Tyrrhenian Group. Artists can be differentiated by the choices of subjects they favoured, the manner of arranging the composition on the main frieze, the decorative bands and personal touches, from which they were later named after, such as the Fallow Deer Painter. The iconographic motives can be divided into mythological, in nearly all cases placed on the obverse of the shoulder, and non mythological, on the reverse. Among the mythological subjects the most popular were Heracles` feats and the Trojan Cycle. Stories concerning Greek deities were not of much interest and were limited to few depictions, for example the birth of Athena, Apollo with Artemis pursuing the Niobids or Tityos. However, gods were often placed as viewers in images concerning Heracles and the Cycle. Most of the stories regarding Troy include violence, such as Achilles in duel with Memnon or Penthesilea, but some go further and show cruelty, for example, Achilles and Hector fighting over Troilos` body or the sacrifice of Polyxena. Among numerous Heraclean stories his fights against the Amazons and Nessos stand out. However, despite the variety of subjects, the Tyrrhenian Group does not provide the viewers with a complete corpus neither of Heracles` life nor of the Trojan Cycle. Unquestionably, the most favoured subjects placed on the reverse were horse races and komoi, some of them including graphic erotic scenes. Themes such as weddings, symposia or combats were increasing their number towards the end of the Group`s production, while animals and composite creatures were decreasing. Sphinxes, sirens and cocks were often used by the early Painters to frame the scenes of the upper friezes. The lower decorative bands were always decorated with fauna, most commonly with panthers, rams, boars, deer, sirens, sphinxes and cocks, floral and figural additions are rare. The Prometheus Painter introduced many of the mythological motives into the Tyrrhenian Group, his oeuvre is the broadest and his technique was unmatched by any other painter from the Group.
Vases recognized as Tyrrhenian have a reputation of depicting brutal and violent scenes. This is a statement based on looking at the subject with modern “eyes” and perspective. The Group indeed includes many duels, Amazonomachy, Centauromachy etc., but actual depiction of blood is present only once, during the sacrifice of Polyxena. Other contemporary and earlier groups render blood more often than the Tyrrhenian.
Earlier theories about the Tyrrhenian Group copying the Corinthian style to enter the Etruscan market do not have validation on iconographic grounds. The Group has more in common with other Athenian painters, such as Sophilos, the Camtar Painter, the KX Painter, the Painter of London B76 and Lydos. Based on iconography, technique and shape, the Tyrrhenian Group is dated from the beginning of the 2nd quarter of the 6th c. to 545 BC. The similarities of iconographic choices among the Tyrrhenian Painters suggest that they must have been working in proximity, each of them could have his own workshop but the vases could have been produced on the request of a single. merchant. The relation between production and shipping is not certain, nor is the connection between potter/painter, merchant and customer. However, it is extremely important not to diminish the role of the Etruscan buyer. It is the customer that shapes the demands of the market and the artisan who fulfils them.
The Etruscan production of the Pontic Group brought to an end the import of the Tyrrhenian Group. Domestic potters incorporated many of the iconographic motives into their oeuvre and added local variations. From a point of view of an Etruscan buyer, if the vase satisfied his aesthetic needs and the cost was lower, the choice was simple.
