Collection Online as of December 11, 2023

Red-Figure Fish Plate: Octopi, Mullet, Bream, Shellfish

c. 340–330 BCE

attributed to Asteas/Python Workshop

(South Italian, Paestan, active c. 360–320 BC)

South Italian, Paestan

Ceramic

Diameter: 38.3 cm (15 1/16 in.); Overall: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.); Diameter of foot: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1985.50

Location

102D Pre-Roman

Fun Fact

Perfect for serving seafood, this plate features images of sea creatures and a central well for dipping or collecting juices.

Description

Although first developed in Athens, red-figure fish plates became especially popular in South Italy and Sicily in the 300s BC. All feature a short foot and a small central depression, but those produced in the workshop of Asteas and Python, like this one, are the largest and most ornate. Archaeologists have closely studied the fish and other sea creatures represented, identifying many of them with species still found (and eaten) in the Mediterranean; included here are octopi, mullet, bream, and various shellfish.

Asteas/Python Workshop

Greek vase painters, active 4th century BCE in Paestum

Provenance

Poutrales family, Portugal (arrived Portugal from Germany and Austria late 19th Century)

?-1985

Thomas Howard-Sneyd, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1985-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Beazley Archive. n.d. Beazley Archive Pottery Database. Oxford: Beazley Archive. BAPD 1002938 www.beazley.ox.ac.uk

Kozloff, A.P. 1986. "Two South Italian Vases: Fish Plate and Frog Bottle," The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 73(10). pp. 406-414. www.jstor.org

Turner, E.H. 1986. "The Year in Review for 1985," The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 73(2). pp. 26-71 (ill. on p. 37, no. 8, listed on p. 62, no. 8). www.jstor.org

McPhee, Ian, and A. D. Trendall. Greek Red-Figured Fish-Plates (Antike Kunst Beiheft 14). Basel: Vereinigung der Freunde Antiker Kunst c/o Archäologisches Seminar der Universität, 1987. p. 108 (Paestan IIIA/33a), pl. 38a..

Trendall, A. D. The Red-Figured Vases of Paestum. [London]: British School at Rome, 1987. p. 236, no. 2/955.

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org

Harrington, J. "Some References to the Octopus in Early Greek Poetry," Persephone 3 (1997). p. 82

Neils, Jenifer, and Gisela Walberg. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, OH]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. pp. 57-58, pl. 103

Hopper, Robin. Functional Pottery: Form and Aesthetic in Pots of Purpose. 2017. p. 179

Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).