The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Scene of four orange-brown figures on a black ceramic stamnos, a vessel with a small circular base, a rounded body with two squared handles on either side, and thin neck that flares at the lip. Above and below, orange-brown geometric bands frame monochromatic figures. A woman leads playing the pipes, a man walking behind. The next man turns, throwing his arm towards the last man, playing the lyre, a stringed musical instrument.

Red-Figure Stamnos (Mixing/Storage Vessel): Komos (Musicians and Revelers)

c. 435–425 BCE
painter

attributed to Kleophon Painter

(Greek, Attic, active c. 440–410 BCE)
Ceramic
height: 40.4 cm (15 7/8 in.); Diameter of foot: 13.8 cm (5 7/16 in.); Diameter of mouth: 23.5 cm (9 1/4 in.); width with handles: 39 cm (15 3/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2023.3
Location: 102C Greek

Did You Know?

The Athenian stamnos, a shape favored by the Etruscans, was made primarily for export.

Description

Four lively figures move to the right across the front side of this stamnos, a vase used for storing and mixing wine. First comes a finely dressed woman playing the pipes, followed by three male figures, all nearly nude. The bearded one holds a drinking cup and reaches back, perhaps dancing, while the last in line concentrates on the music of his lyre.
  • Henri De Morgan (1854-1909), New York, NY
    January 16, 1909
    Sale: Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, Catalogue of Greek Vases and Antique Iridescent Glass Cameos, Intaglios, and Silver Coins Selected and Catalogued by H. De Morgan, January 16th, 1909, no. 80
    1909-
    Thomas Barlow Walker (1840-1928), Minneapolis, Minnesota
    The T.B. Walker Foundation (founded 1925), Minneapolis, inv. no. WF2
    December 15, 2016
    Sale: Sotheby's New York, December 15, 2016, Lot 66
    2016-2023
    Ariadne Demirjian LLC, Connecticut, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2023-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Beazley Archive Pottery Database (BAPD), University of Oxford Classical Art Research Centre. no. 215150 www.carc.ox.ac.uk
    Fifth Avenue Art Galleries (New York, N.Y.), and Henri de Morgan. Catalogue of [His Selection of] Greek Vases: Also Antique Iridescent Glass Cameos Intaglios and Silver Coins. New York: Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, 1909. no. 80 (illustrated pl. 4, following no. 125)
    Beazley, J. D. Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963. p. 1144, no. 10, and 1684
    Philippaki, Barbara. The Attic Stamnos. Oxford: Clarendon P., 1967. p. 135, no. 6, pl. 59.1 (side A)
    Brijder, H. A. G. “The Six Donation in the Allard Pierson Museum: A Stamnos by the Kleophon Painter,” BABESCH Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology 45 (1970). pp. 50-67 (see pp. 63 [fig. 26 (side B)], 67 [Appendix])
    Felten, Florens. Thanatos- und Kleophonmaler; weissgrundige und rotfigurige Vasenmalerei der Parthenonzeit. [München]: W. Fink, 1971. p. 46.
    Isler-Kerenyi, C. 1973. “Chronologie und ‘Synchronologie’ attischer Vasenmaler der Parthenonzeit,” Antike Kunst Beiheft 9. pp. 23-33 (mentioned p. 29)
    University of Minnesota. Greek Vases. [Minneapolis]: University Gallery, University of Minnesota, 1981. p. 16, no. 14
    Matheson, Susan B. Polygnotos and Vase Painting in Classical Athens. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. p. 408, cat. no. KL 11
    Sotheby's (Firm). Ancient Egyptian Sculpture & Works of Art: And a Selection of Greek Vases Sold to Benefit the Walker Art Center. 2016. pp. 76-77, lot 66 (sides A, B, B-A)
    Pevnick, Seth. "A Newly Acquired Ancient Greek Vase," CMA Thinker Blog, May 26, 2023. medium.com
    Litt, Steven. "Newly Purchased Greek Vase Shows Cleveland Museum of Art Still Committed to Buying Antiquities with Clear Provenance," The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, September 24, 2023. www.cleveland.com
    Lemonedes Brown, Heather. "Noteworthy and New: Three highlights from the year's acquisitions.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 63, no. 4 (2023): 14-15. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 14 archive.org
  • Greek Vases, University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, (9 February – 31 March 1981).
    On loan to the University Gallery, University of Minnesota, inv. no. L1972.1.2.
    On loan to the Walker Art Gallery, subsequently the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, acc. no. 09.6, old inv. no. 680.
  • {{cite web|title=Red-Figure Stamnos (Mixing/Storage Vessel): Komos (Musicians and Revelers)|url=false|author=Kleophon Painter|year=c. 435–425 BCE|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.3