Exekias, active c. 545–530 b.c., is one of the most famous Athenian vase painters. His known vases number less than 50 and each one is memorable. This book does not examine Exekias’ style of painting or chart his chronology, which has been done by others. Instead, this welcome new monograph focuses on just a few of his vases and their subjects which present a subtle and sensitive visual record of the human condition that is as relevant today as it was in antiquity. The book begins with high praise by Sir John Boardman and by Brian Sparkes, then a generous list of acknowledgements followed by a preface that traces M.'s history of this study.
In her introduction, M. summarises the considerations of subject matter, style and iconography, emphasising that vases were ‘designed to be handled, used and enjoyed’ (p. 5) and we respond to this. The title of each chapter engages the imagination and the text does not disappoint. M.'s clear prose seamlessly blends details of visual communication with references to pertinent ancient literature and history. She also emphasises the difficulty of applying figures to the curved surfaces of a vase and how Exekias met this challenge with unparalleled success. Throughout, M. concentrates on settings, gestures, garments, attributes, inscriptions, accessory colours and other details that contribute to the viewer's understanding of the picture. There are no footnotes; instead, each chapter is followed by a substantial discussion of bibliography and commentary on the major references. This format allows inclusion of much more information without interrupting the flow of text that lengthy footnotes sometimes cause. Note: I could find no reference to the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA), even though M. has published three fascicules: Edinburgh (1989); Glasgow (1997) and Aberdeen (2006). Pertinent references to fascicules that postdate Addenda 2 1989 should have been included. In the notes to this section and elsewhere (p. 143 and p. 165) M. cites my middle initial as A.; it is B; for Mommsen, 1998, ‘Beobachten’ should be ‘Beobachtungen’.
Chapter 1, ‘Portrait of a Loser’, focuses on Ajax, specifically the playing scene with Achilles on Vatican 344 (pl. 1), Ajax carrying the body of Achilles on Munich 1470 (pl. 2) and, most memorable, Boulogne 558 (pl. 3) which depicts Ajax tamping down the soil around the handle of his upright sword on which he will impale himself. Exekias painted this heart-rending scene of loneliness and sorrow with great simplicity; the palm tree on the left balances the hero's armour on the right, the rest of the background is empty. The mood foreshadows the beautiful soliloquy in Sophocles’ play Ajax 815ff., performed nearly 100 years later; Ajax muses over the events that led to his destructive act (I wish M. had mentioned this).
Chapter 2, ‘Homecomings and Departures’, focuses on Vatican 344 (fig. 6). Castor and Polydeuces appear with their parents and an elegant horse in a quiet scene held together by gesture and glance, so typical of Exekias. M. remarks that it is uncertain if the twins are returning home or about to depart; the excited dog prompts me to opt for a return, but M. emphasises the importance of horses in departure scenes. Exekias liked horses and painted many of them. Note: this horse's tail is not ‘sweaty’ (p. 51); it just needs combing.
Chapter 3, ‘The Eye of the Beholder’, focuses on Ajax spearing Penthesilea on London B 210 (pl. 4). M. discusses how sensitively the two figures relate to each other, as well as to the shape of this neck-amphora; then she discusses the variations in battle-scene compositions and the participants, as well as the armour and weapons, especially those of Penthesilea.
Chapter 4, ‘The Long Goodbye’, concentrates on the subject of death and burial and Exekias’ important contribution to it, his funerary plaques in Berlin and Athens that were once attached to a tomb (or tombs) in the Kerameikos. Funeral scenes comprise the earliest subjects on Greek vases and M. begins with a very good overview of them, namely the large Geometric vessels that marked graves and depicted the prothesis and the ekphora (the mourning ritual and the procession to the grave). For the ekphora, I wish she had chosen a different description for the vehicle that conveyed the coffin to the cemetery: ‘four-wheeled waggon’ (Coldstream, Geometric Greece, p. 122) is preferable to her ‘long flatbed “truck”’ (p. 85). The discussion of the plaques focuses on those that especially convey the deepest sense of sorrow and loss. Exekias is at his best when expressing intense human emotions in memorable images that are subtle and still. In the notes, the discussion and bibliography are especially good. On p. 150: the accession number for New York, 14.130.14 is given as 14.30.14 (it is correct in the caption to fig. 38); instead of an old photograph, M. should have used one of the new images published in CVA, Metropolitan Museum 5 [USA 37] (2004), pls 8–13.
Chapter 5, ‘Masks’, brings us to the famous cup in Munich with Dionysus in his boat on the interior (pl. 8); the eyes on the exterior are mask-like (fig. 61). M. tells us that this cup ‘is a favourite for many … probably for all the wrong reasons’ (p. 101), then goes on to list them, most having to do with illustrations which often do not present the entire vessel, but only the relevant section. This sounds discouraging, but it is not; M.'s point is a valid one: every part of this cup is important in order to understand the subtlety of its shape, ornament and figures. Details are important, but it is necessary to keep in mind their relation to the whole. M. discusses the difficulty of fitting human images into a circular format as well as the ingenious placement of the figures at each handle: armed warriors fight for the corpse of a fallen comrade (figs 59–60). She opts for the scenes representing two moments in the same rescue; I am inclined to think they are separate. More important is her suggestion that when the symposiast drank from the cup, holding it by the stem and foot, the prow of Dionysus’ boat would be pointed straight at his mouth. I am not sure I believe that the drinker ‘is metaphorically swallowing the god when he drinks: another way of becoming filled with the god's presence’ (p. 123), but I think M. is correct about how the cup would have been held by the imbibing symposiast (assuming it was ever actually used). On Munich 8935, a calyx-krater by Euphronios, a symposiast inscribed Thodemos holds his cup in exactly this manner (Addenda 2, p. 152; Euphronios der Maler [1991], p. 89 and p. 90: ill).
In the epilogue, following a general summary, M. raises the possibility that some of Exekias’ scenes may allude to political events and mentions a few that occurred during the reign of Peisistratos. The Kerameikos was in central Athens and Athenians may have made connections between the visual material easily accessible to them and possibly relevant incidents. She then asks what makes these vases so attractive. Quality is an obvious criterion, but more important is the power of the figural content: ‘the primary impact is instant’ (p. 129). Her final sentence about how remarkable these vases are sums up everything. ‘These are … the normal indicators of great art: acknowledged quality, wide dissemination, public appreciation, critical and scholarly attention, and the indefinable mix of these and other, often more individual reactions which underwrite our pleasure in a beautiful and speaking object’ (p. 131). Put another way: this book is a pleasure to read.
