Calyx Krater with Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice

Artist Rycroft Painter (Greek)

Place of OriginAthens, Greece

Date520-510 BCE

DimensionsH (as restored): 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm); Diam (lip): 18 5/16 in. (46.5 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown ceramic, black-figure decoration

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1963.26

Not on View

DescriptionThis large calyx krater has a deep, rounded body with a slightly concave profile, two broad handles, and a restored modern foot. The vessel is decorated in the black-figure technique with finely incised details and limited added color. The principal scene (Side A) depicts Achilles and Ajax seated, playing a board game, with Athena standing behind them. The reverse (Side B) shows a group of athletes, including javelin throwers and a flute player. The decorative elements include tongue patterns, grapevines, and ivy leaves.

Label TextAlthough a popular theme for Greek vase decoration, this scene of Achilles and Ajax playing a board game does not actually appear in the Iliad, the story that recounts the two Greek heroes’ deeds during the siege of Troy. The two friends still in full armor focus on the board in front of them as the goddess Athena stands behind. She gestures to them, indicating the approaching danger as the Trojans threaten to interrupt their game. On the back side a musician in a long white robe plays the aulos (double flute) to provide a rhythm for a trainer coaching an athlete to the far right, who swings halteres (jumping weights). At the left another trainer works with two javelin throwers.Published ReferencesBrommer, Frank, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, 2nd ed., Marburg, 1960, p. 254, no. 6.

Münzen and Medaillen A.G., Auktion XXVI. Kunstwerke der Antike. Basel. 5 Oct. 1963, pp. 55-56, lot no. 109.

Caskey, J.D., and John D. Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 1963, vol. III, p. 3, note 1.

Vermule, Emily, "Myths, Shapes and Colors," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, 1967, p. 424, 426 and fig. 9.

Riefstahl, Rudolph M., "Greek Vases," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 11, no. 2, 1968, p. 35.

Beazley, John D., Paralipomena, Oxford, 1971, p. 149, no. 23 bis.

Luckner, Kurt T., "Greek Vases: Shapes and Uses," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 15, no. 3, 1972, p. 71.

Brommer, Frank., Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, 3rd ed., Marburg, 1973, p. 336, no. 47.

Boardman, John, Athenian Black Figure Vases, London, 1974, p. 113, fig. 227.

Münzen und Medaillen A.G. Auktion 51, Kunstwerke der Antike. 14./15. Marz 1975. Basel, p. 52, on lot no. 131.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus vasorum antiquorum: Toledo Museum of Art, U.S.A. Fasc. 17, Toledo, 1976, p. 11-13, repr. pl. 17, 18 and 19, fig. 5.

Vial, Jane, "Musical instruments: woodwinds," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 20, no. 4, 1978, p. 101, repr. fig. 12 (det.).

Berge, Louise, Greek vase-painting in Midwestern collections, Chicago, Art Institute, 1979, no. 62, p. 108-109, repr.

Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC), Zurich, 1981, v. I, pt. 1, p. 99, no. 408, repr. v. I, pt. 2, p. 99, vol. II, pt. 1, p. 1008, no. 560.

Moon, Warren G., "Some new and little-known vases by the Rycroft and Priam Painters," in Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum, vol.2, Malibu, 1985, p. 47, 62, repr. figs. 11 a-b.

Frank, Suzanne, Attische Kelchdratere, Frankfurt am Main, 1990, pp. 82-89, taf. 2/3-4, p. 310.

Cohen, Beth, "Perikles Portrait and the Riace Bronzes: New Evidence for 'Schinocephaly'" in Hesperia, vol. 60, no. 4, October - December 1991, repr. pl. 123, fig. a, p. 490.

Hurwit, Jeffrey M., "The representation of nature in early Greek art," Studies in the History of Art, 32, 1991, p. 42, fig. 8, p. 43.

Antigone & the Greek world, Cleveland, OH, Nexus, 1997, repr. p. 28.

Foley, John Miles, ed., A companion to ancient epic, Oxford, England, Blackwell, 2005, repr. (det., col.) on dust jacket.

Miller, Stephen G., Ancient Greek Athletics, New Haven, Yale, 2004, p. 71, fig. 138, p. 72.

Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, Treasures for Toledo, Dec. 1964 - Jan. 1965.

Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Greek vase-painting in Midwestern collections, 1979-1980.

Toledo Museum of Art, Fun and Games: The Pursuit of Leisure, Jun. 27-Sept. 21, 2014.

Toledo Museum of Art, Shakespeare's Characters: Playing the Part, September 2, 2016-January 8, 2017. Pacific Palisades, CA, The Getty Villa; Atlanta, GA, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Picture Worlds: Greek, Maya, and Moche Pottery, Apr. 10 - Dec. 15, 2024.