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Stemmed dish or incense dish (thymiaterion)
Italic, Etruscan
Archaic Period
600–550 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Bucchero
Dimensions
18.3 cm (7 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of H. P. Kidder
Accession Number80.533
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Fairbanks, Vases (MFA), no. 618.
DescriptionShallow bowl with a hemispherical cavity at the center. Flat-topped rim, raised slightly from the bowl and with a grooved edge on the exterior. High stemmed foot bulging at the top and corresponding with the internal cavity. Rounded moulding at the center of the stem. Spreading foot.
On the interior, halfway up the wall of the bowl, is stamped frieze made from a cylinder seal. The frieze is composed in two groups of figures. In the first group, two women walk to the right holding wreaths in their right arms and raising their left arms. Before them a nude man holding a bow in both hands also walks to the right. The three figures approach a fourth figure seated on a throne, beneath which stands a bird. The seated figure holds a spear in their left hand and raises their right hand, perhaps in a gesture of greeting.
In the second group a standing female figure, facing right, holds a wreath in one hand and raises the other towards a second figure, facing left and seated on a folding chair. The seated figure holds a wreath in one hand. Behind them, two male figures walk to the left, grasping a spear in one hand and raising their other hand.
On the interior, halfway up the wall of the bowl, is stamped frieze made from a cylinder seal. The frieze is composed in two groups of figures. In the first group, two women walk to the right holding wreaths in their right arms and raising their left arms. Before them a nude man holding a bow in both hands also walks to the right. The three figures approach a fourth figure seated on a throne, beneath which stands a bird. The seated figure holds a spear in their left hand and raises their right hand, perhaps in a gesture of greeting.
In the second group a standing female figure, facing right, holds a wreath in one hand and raises the other towards a second figure, facing left and seated on a folding chair. The seated figure holds a wreath in one hand. Behind them, two male figures walk to the left, grasping a spear in one hand and raising their other hand.
ProvenanceBy 1880: H. P. Kidder Collection (from Chiusi ?); gift of H. P. Kidder to MFA, October 21, 1880