• m10-cor-32-10
    Overview of the exterior of the fragment. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)
  • m10-cor-32-20
    Overview of the interior of the fragment. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Late Protocorinthian Phiale or Plate Fragment

Date
Ca. 650-630 BC., Lydian
Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
P66.012
Material
Ceramic
Object Type
Pottery
Pottery Shape
Phiale, Plate?
Pottery Ware
Late Protocorinthian
Pottery Attribution
Site
Sardis
Sector
HoB
Trench
HoB
B-Grid Coordinates
W9 - W12 / S95 - S100 *98.2 - 98
Description

A fragment of what was probably a miniature phiale or a plate with an animal frieze. It is decorated on both sides in black-polychrome technique. Exterior: the curved ends of five incised tongues radiate from the center, with added color alternating yellow, black glaze, and red. Beyond the tongues is a series of five lines of added color: one yellow, three red, another yellow, followed by a wide area of black glaze. Another series of colored lines appears closer to the rim. Three of these lines are preserved: one yellow and two red. The piece is very nicely executed.

Interior: portions of five incised tongues radiate from the center, alternating red and yellow, between which is a stripe of black glaze. In the frieze, the end of a bird's wing appears on the left with each feather fully incised. Next to the bird are the hindquarters of a hound facing to the right. Short incisions mark the hip, rump, hock, and paw of the hound. The striding pose is unusual. Below the animal frieze is a scale pattern with narrow borders created by two fine parallel incisions with central compass points. The added color on the scales alternates red, black glaze, and yellow. Glaze: black, glossy. Clay: fine, smooth, and slightly powdery. Beige. Closest Munsell no. 7.4 YR 7/4 (pink).

The decorative frieze on this fragment appears on the concave side, suggesting that the piece was either a shallow bowl or a plate, rather than a lid. A phiale from Perachora shows a similar use of an animal frieze and scale pattern (PerachoraII, 81, pl. 31, no. 714). Another phiale showing incised tongues on the exterior came from the same site (ibid., pl. 33, no. 1985). At least 127 miniature phialai (ibid., pl. 120) and approximately twenty-four phialai, all dating to LPC--TR, were found at Perachora.

Dimensions
P.H. 0.044; P.W. 0.04; Th. 0.003
Comments
Cf. Perachora II, pls. 31, 33, for general design; Benson, “Notes” 221 and pl. 69, figs. 7, 8 (aryballos, Cleveland 341.15). For hounds, Payne, NC pl. 11:3 (lower register).
See Also
Bibliography
Author
JS