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View: Side A
Two-handled jar (pelike) with actors preparing for a performance
Greek, Athens
Classical Period
about 430 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions
Height: 24.1 cm (9 1/2 in.); diameter: 18 cm (7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.883
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Caskey-Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings (MFA), no. 063.
DescriptionSide A: Actors dressing. Youth dressed as a woman, and another youth.
Side B: Bearded man in mantle, profile to left. Repaired with slight restoration.
[Label text]:
The scene on this pelike shows two actors preparing for a performance. One young man has already donned his costume. His companion dresses before putting on his mask which lies on the ground between the two figures. The actors are dressed as women, as all parts in the Greek theater were played by men. The costumes are comprised of a chiton (a typical woman's garment), a kerchief around the hair, and high boots in addition to the mask. The boots may indicate that these men are portraying women from the Northern region of Thrace.
Side B: Bearded man in mantle, profile to left. Repaired with slight restoration.
[Label text]:
The scene on this pelike shows two actors preparing for a performance. One young man has already donned his costume. His companion dresses before putting on his mask which lies on the ground between the two figures. The actors are dressed as women, as all parts in the Greek theater were played by men. The costumes are comprised of a chiton (a typical woman's garment), a kerchief around the hair, and high boots in addition to the mask. The boots may indicate that these men are portraying women from the Northern region of Thrace.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: bought by E. R. from Calabrese with the Pamphaios. From excavations at Cervetri); 1898: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 69,618.13 (this figure is the total price for MFA 98.641-98.940)