Red-Figure Fish Plate: Octopi, Mullet, Bream, Shellfish

Description

Although first developed in Athens, red-figure fish plates became especially popular in South Italy and Sicily in the 300s BC. All feature a short foot and a small central depression, but those produced in the workshop of Asteas and Python, like this one, are the largest and most ornate. Archaeologists have closely studied the fish and other sea creatures represented, identifying many of them with species still found (and eaten) in the Mediterranean; included here are octopi, mullet, bream, and various shellfish.

Provenance

Poutrales family, Portugal (arrived Portugal from Germany and Austria late 19th Century); Thomas Howard-Sneyd, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-1985); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1985-)

Red-Figure Fish Plate: Octopi, Mullet, Bream, Shellfish

Asteas/Python Workshop

c. 340–330 BCE

Accession Number

1985.50

Medium

ceramic

Dimensions

Diameter: 38.3 cm (15 1/16 in.); Overall: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.); Diameter of foot: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.)

Classification

Ceramic

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund