History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman....

The last class of subjects with which this section has to deal is that of animals, as considered apart from human beings, or objects of what modern painters term “still life.” In the historical chapters of this work it has been shown what a large part the animal world played in the decoration of vases down to the sixth century B.C., and also which were the animals most frequently selected for the friezes and other decorations of early vases. Most noteworthy in this respect are the Mycenaean vases (Vol. I. p. 273), with their representations of cuttle-fish (Plate XV.), the nautilus or argonaut,[1920] and other marine subjects. But to these early vases in the present case no further allusion need be made; as subjects they have not as a rule sufficient interest. On the Attic vases of the B.F. and R.F. periods animals rarely form a principal subject on vases, though they still sometimes appear in small friezes on the less important parts of the vase; it may, therefore, be of interest to note a few typical instances in which this feature retains its prominence.

Sometimes we have subjects with action: as, for instance, one in which a panther tears a stag, and is attacked by an archer and an armed warrior[1921]; or a lion attacks a panther, a bull, or a deer.[1922] Again, the interior of a B.F. kylix is sometimes filled with an animal subject, such as a wounded stag,[1923] or a deer scratching itself or grazing,[1924] or other animals[1925]; and in a similar position on one R.F. kylix we have an ass with its pack.[1926] Other animal subjects worth mentioning are a sea-serpent,[1927] goats browsing on vines,[1928] a fox caught in a trap,[1929] cats and mice,[1930] the appearance of the swallow.[1931]

There is a class of ware made in Southern Italy which takes the form of flat plates or dishes, decorated with representations of fish and molluscs, such as the pike or mullet, the cuttle-fish and various shell-fish; these were clearly used for eating fish off, and they have in the centre a hollow to receive the sauce.[1932] Friezes of fish are not infrequently found on the vases of Apulia. Animals, especially birds, sometimes appear in friezes on the early Ionic vases, such as geese, quails, or guinea-fowl[1933]; cocks and hens confronted are more common, especially in the B.F. period,[1934] and one late Italian vase has an amusing group of a cock and goose greeting one another with the words, “Ah, the goose!” “Oh, the cock!”[1935]

Lastly, of subjects from still life, distinct from their appearance in figure subjects, we find the armour of a warrior,[1936] a washing-basin,[1937] a flute-case,[1938] a lyre,[1939] a table with bread upon it,[1940] and a collection of objects for the toilet.[1941]