Skyphoi are a type of drinking cup used in ancient Greece. The larger of these cups could hold more than a litre of liquid, usually a mix of wine and water to be shared by a group at a symposium.
Ancient Greek symposia were gatherings that ranged in character from dignified philosophical discussions to drunken revelry involving drinking games, musicians and prostitutes. Decoration on skyphoi often celebrate Dionysos, god of wine, pleasure and festivity.
This skyphos has one naked male youth on each side, who appear to be on their way to or from a symposium. One holds a skyphos in his hand, and the other carries a stringed musical instrument (probably a lyre.) Near the musician, the artist has inscribed the word kalos – meaning beautiful.
The Hobart Painter
This skyphos has been attributed to the Hobart Painter. Although the Greeks travelled and traded extensively, they never quite made it to Tasmania. So how did an ancient Greek craftsman come to be known as the Hobart painter?
It is extremely rare for painting on Greek pottery to be signed, so the actual names of the painters and craftsmen are largely unknown.
The twentieth-century British archaeologist and art historian Sir John Beazley undertook a project to classify and name Attic pottery by artistic style. Similar to using Latin names for plants and animals, Beazley created a classification system that helped academics better understand links between ancient Greek objects in collections around the world.
He chose names for unidentified ancient artists based on a number of different factors. Sometimes they were named for the location in which they were discovered, such as the Dipylon Master, and other times for an identifiable theme in their decoration, such as the Dwarf Painter. Sometimes painters were named for the location of the artist’s most important or iconic work. In this case the Hobart Painter skyphos was already in the collection of the John Elliott Classics Museum, located in Hobart, at the time Beazley allocated a name to its artist.
See the Attic red-figure skyphos by the Hobart Painter on display at the John Elliott Classics Museum at the University of Tasmania Sandy Bay Campus. Entry to the Museum is Free.
Image details: Attic red-figure skyphos attributed to the Hobart Painter, 430 - 420 BC, Height 15.3 cm, Inv. No. GV21, acquired 1956.