Leseprobe

19 Mixing-vessel (krater) Attic, mid –10th cent. BCE Clay; height 19.8 cm Purchased from Botho Graef, Berlin, in 1895 Inv. no. ZV 1465 The balanced proportions, simple contours, and austere decoration of this mixing vessel create an impression of contained monumentality. The supple and vegetal decorative elements of the Minoan and Mycenaean period have evolved here into independent, purely geometric circular patterns drawn with a compass. This early and simple vessel, one of the first-known examples of Greek art created after the fall of the Mycenaean culture, already embodies qualities which will remain char- acteristic for Greek art as a whole: clarity of form, organic composition, and harmonious, balanced proportions. Above a low, conical base, the plain clay body of the vessel rises straight up, ending in a dark-edged lip which curves slightly outward. The bow-shaped round handles lie close to the wall of the vessel, but follow the slight outward curve of the lip at the top. They are decorated with cursory cross-stripes and outlined on the outer edges with dark lines which extend downwards beyond the ends of the handles. Three sets of concentric circles, drawn with a compass, appear on each wall of the vessel, framed by horizontal bands, one above and three below.  |  kk