Oversized Athenian Drinking Vessels in Context: Their Role in Etruscan Ritual Performances (original) (raw)

This article discusses a distinctive class of Athenian figure-decorated vases consisting of a few black-figure and red-figure cups and some phialai that are dated to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. All are large, and some are huge, with diameters varying between about 35 and 56 cm. After tracking the shift in the distribution of these vessels from the late sixth century on, from Greek contexts to a concentration in southern Etruria, the article examines several case studies based on reconstructed material assemblages from Etruscan sanctuaries and graves in order to better understand the part played by the purchasers in the local reception and use of these monumental Athenian vases. I attempt to go beyond earlier explanations that see these objects as exchange gifts reflecting the prestige of the aristocratic owners and to demonstrate how this distinctive class of pottery responded to a variety of indigenous needs, practices, and interpretations. 1 introduction Athenian pottery imports in the Italian peninsula, especially southern Etruria, have been the subject of scholarship since the early 19th century, when excavations undertaken in the necropoleis of Vulci yielded thousands of these vessels. 2 While initially focused on the analysis of shapes, iconographical subjects, and painters' styles, scholars gradually began to concentrate on the actions of traders and the effects of this foreign market on Athenian potters, though, until recently, from a Hellenocentric point of view. 3 Since the late 1990s, studies have shown a new interest in purchasers, networks, and markets for figure-decorated pottery with keen attention to the choices of Italic consumers. 4 These studies have discussed how indigenous populations used Greek vases, 5 often relating material culture to the construction of 1 Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Oxford graduate seminars on Greek Pots Abroad in 2008 and at the Pottery Research Group meeting in 2012 (Institute of Classical Studies, University College London). I greatly benefited from discussions with A. Johnston, E. Langridge-Noti, M. Stansbury-O'Donnell, and T. Carpenter and, on Etruscan matters, with B. van der Meer and C. Riva. Many thanks are also due to M. Mendonça and S. Sarti. Also extremely helpful were the reviews of S. Bundrick and two anonymous reviewers for the AJA, and the comments of AJA Editor-in-Chief Jane B. Carter. Remaining errors are mine. I am very grateful to C. Johnston and B. Simpson, AJA editorial staff, for help in practical and editing matters. For assistance in obtaining photographs and copyright permits, I acknowledge R.