Harvard Art Museums > 1960.350: Plate: Woman Playing Kottabos Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Plate: Woman Playing Kottabos (Attributed to The Bryn Mawr Painter) , 1960.350,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Jan 05, 2025, https://hvrd.art/o/287713. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.350 People Attributed to The Bryn Mawr Painter, Greek Title Plate: Woman Playing Kottabos Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date 480 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Vari (Attica) Period Classical period, Early Culture Greek Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/287713 Location Location Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta Technique Red-figure Dimensions 2.5 cm h x 21.8 cm diam. (1 x 8 9/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History David M. Robinson, Baltimore, MD, (by 1937-1958), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960. State, Edition, Standard Reference Number Standard Reference Number Beazley Archive Database #213353 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.350 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description On this plate interior, a woman reclines on a couch into a plush and decorated pillow. She wears a long tunic with fine creases done in diluted glaze with a mantle thrown over her legs. Her hair is pulled back into a dotted headdress (sakkos). She holds two wine cups, one rendered in silhouette held close to her body, the other in her extended hand as she plays the game kottabos. In a symposium (drinking party), this game involved the tossing of the wine dregs left over at the bottom of a cup at a target, sometimes as one calls out the name of his lover. In the background behind her feet, an empty pipe case hangs on the wall, suggesting that the pipe player is somewhere unseen in this scene, accompanying the party with music. Commentary Since symposia were restricted to male participants with the exception of female entertainers, such as prostitutes or hetairai, this image, which is in fact quite unusual, can be interpreted as a kind of humorous parody. Instead of a man reclining and consuming wine, as would be expected, the roles are swapped, where the woman, most likely a prostitute or other kind of entertainer, takes his place on the couch. The irony of this scene is emphasized by her participation in kottabos, where normally the man might be calling her name as he aims at the target, she instead replaces him, potentially calling his name. There are two holes at the top of the plate, suggesting that it was suspended, though where exactly is unclear. Publication History Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 19, no. 112 Frank J. Frost, Greek Society, D. C. Heath and Co. (1980), p. 130. David Gordon Mitten and Amy Brauer, Dialogue with Antiquity, The Curatorial Achievement of George M. A. Hanfmann, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1982), p. 12, no. 19. I. Peschel, "Die Hetäre bei Symposium und Komos in der attisch rotfigurigen Malerei des 6.-4. Jhs. v.Chr." (Frankfurt, 1987), pl. 73. Joyce Salisbury, Encyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World (Santa Barbara, California, 2001) [Reproduction Only], Persephone, (Spring 2004)., p. 79. Exhibition History The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961 Dialogue with Antiquity: The Curatorial Achievement of George M.A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum, 05/07/1982 - 06/26/1982 Fragments of Antiquity: Drawing Upon Greek Vases, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/15/1997 - 12/28/1997 HAA132e The Ideal of the Everyday in Greek Art (S427) Spring 2012, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2012 - 05/12/2012 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Subjects and Contexts Google Art Project Related Articles Fellowship, in Image and in Practice July 8, 2020 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
