The Pronomos Vase and Its Context ed. by Oliver Taplin and Rosie Wyles (review)

To have fourteen scholars address the problems of a single Athenian red figure vase may seem indulgent, but this one is something exceptional, even if not new to us. Found at Ruvo in 1835, the vase was made in the fourth century BC for sale to Greeks in South Italy, as were many others from the potters’ quarter of Athens. The largest vases, like this one, were commonly decorated with subjects that seem inspired by the Greek (that is, Athenian) theater. The Pronomos Vase is exceptional in showing not the action or plot of a play but what seems most likely the curtain call of a production, with all the actors in costume and attended by the author, as well as by the divine patrons—Dionysos and his consort. The vase deserves its special status and treatment as a textbook for the study of costume and other trappings of Greek theater, and it poses broader problems as well: notably, how to present a populous scene as a frieze, what the state of the Greek theater was about 400 BC (just after Athens had lost a war), and what the mechanics of pot production and marketing were at the time. The authors have done the vase proud, and we must hope that students of all ages will be led by it to understand more of the problems and advantages of studying art in the company of literature.