The François Vase: New Perspectives & The Photohraphs

In May 2003, some thirty Greek vase scholars from Europe and the United States gathered at the Villa Spelman in Florence, then a part of Johns Hopkins University, to discuss and debate new interpretations of the most celebrated of all Athenian figured vases, the volute-krater made by Kleitias and Ergotimos ca. 570 B.C.E. and called by the name of its discoverer in 1844, Alessandro François. This volume collects eight papers delivered on that occasion, along with two more growing out of the discussions at the Villa. The authors address all aspects of the krater, from shape, technique and ornament to the elusive iconographical program, as well the vase’s place in the history of the importation of Attic pottery into Etruria. The book is accompanied by a stunning new set of color photographs of the François Vase commissioned from Fernando Guerrini of the Archivio Fotografico della Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana.