- Richard Daniel De Puma –
characteristics (for example, deep or shallow bowls, lipless, or more or less pronounced
lips and carinations) can occur on examples from the same context. There appears to be
no simple evolution of forms. Late Protocorinthian and Ionic cups appear to be the major
infl uences on the shapes of bucchero cups. Attic shapes, especially the Lip-cup popular
in Greece circa 565–535 bc, appear to be confi ned to bucchero workshops in Central
Etruria. Generally, decoration is simple: incised horizontal lines, rows of closed fans, the
occasional ray pattern. Rarely do we fi nd fi gural friezes that are incised or in relief.^26
To summarize this fi rst portion of the chapter, it is instructive to consider an excellent
bucchero sottile jug (circa 650–630 bc) that was discovered in 1988 in tomb 2, San Paolo at
Cerveteri (see Fig. 6.37). The shape, although the upper portion is missing, is clearly an
olpe, a type of jug invented at Corinth that was imported in large numbers by the Etruscans
and ultimately was imitated by them. In fact, there are hundreds of examples of Etrusco-
Corinthian olpai and it is probably the most common shape for that painting style. In this
specifi c case, the shape of the San Paolo olpe most closely resembles the famous Chigi vase,
an olpe produced in Corinth circa 650 bc and exported to Etruria.^27 The tomb chamber
in which the San Paolo olpe was found also contained locally made impasto vessels, some
additional bucchero, a Protocorinthian oinochoe, three Protocorinthian olpai and one
Etrusco-Corinthian olpe. Thus, it represents a typical collection of local and imported
wares, with an especially strong concentration on Corinthian products.
The San Paolo bucchero sottile olpe has two wide friezes in relief with added incisions to
enhance details. The technique is clearly reminiscent of metalwork. At the top, in the handle
zone, the frieze depicts three felines. Two of them are devouring humans. In each case, a
single leg hanging from the animal’s mouth is the only part of the human that remains
visible. This motif, which appears frequently on early bucchero pottery, is of uncertain
signifi cance.^28 The lower frieze (see Fig. 6.37) shows eleven human fi gures in three groups,
plus one independent fi gure. Incised inscriptions identify two of these characters as well as
an object (see also Chapter 24). Occupying the central position is a woman shown in profi le
facing left and inscribed metaia (Medea) (see Fig 6.37). In front of her a youth, unlabelled,
emerges from a cauldron and almost certainly represents the fi gure of Jason, rejuvenated
by Medea’s magic. Six young men, carrying a long object, stride toward Medea. The object
is inscribed kanna, perhaps “gift” or “prize,” and may represent a lengthy piece of cloth (it
has zigzag fringes and hems), the Golden Fleece, or a ship’s folded sail.^29 To the left of the
Jason fi gure, and separated from him by an incised six-pointed star, is a pair of youthful
male athletes who appear to be boxing. In front of the boxers and facing the six youths
carrying the kanna is the most fantastic of the fi gures, a running man with voluminous
wings. He is inscribed taitale (Daidalos) (see Fig 24.1). How this fi gure of the legendary
artisan and inventor precisely fi ts into the story of Jason, Medea, the Argonauts and the
boxers has taxed the interpretative skills of several archaeologists. One point of consensus
is that the olpe appears to document the increasing commercial contacts (represented by the
Argonauts) and consequent exchange of technical knowledge (Daidalos) between Greece
and Etruria during the seventh century bc.
BUCCHERO PESANTE: UNUSUAL SHAPES AND
ELABORATE ORNAMENTApproximately one century after the earliest appearance of bucchero sottile pottery in
Etruscan tombs, a new variant, which we call bucchero pesante (“heavy bucchero”), became