Advanced Search 
Pitcher (trefoil mouth oinochoe) with a fox hunt scene
Attributed to: The Hunt Group
Greek
Late Geometric IIa Period
735–720 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic
Dimensions
Height: 23.2 cm (9 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Richard Norton Memorial Fund
Accession Number25.42
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Fairbanks, Vases (MFA), no. 269b.
DescriptionThe frieze decorating the belly of this vase probably depicts a fox hunt. A group of men, accompanied by dogs, hunts a solitary fox, which is held captive by the central human figure. The fox can be distinguished from the dogs by the differences in the rendering of their respective tails. The swastika motif, dispersed throughout the composition, is used to convey a sense of frantic movement, accentuating the motion already embedded in the scene. Other less likely interpretations for this scene include three males hunting foxes and hares, and a single farmer, depicted in a continuous narrative, chasing foxes out of a poultry-run.
ProvenanceSaid to come from the collection of “Dr. Schlieman” [see note 1]. September 28, 1923, sold by Moise Emanuelides (dealer), Athens, to Brummer Gallery, New York (stock nos. P639 and P747); 1925, sold by Brummer Gallery to the MFA for $855 [see note 2]. (Accession Date: March 5, 1925)
NOTES:
[1] According to the Brummer Gallery stock card. [2] MFA accession nos. 25.42 and 25.43 were purchased together for this amount. Because the stock cards from the Brummer Gallery give identical descriptions for the two vases, it is not possible to tell which was stock no. P639 and which was P747.
NOTES:
[1] According to the Brummer Gallery stock card. [2] MFA accession nos. 25.42 and 25.43 were purchased together for this amount. Because the stock cards from the Brummer Gallery give identical descriptions for the two vases, it is not possible to tell which was stock no. P639 and which was P747.