The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

• chapter 52: The Etruscan painted pottery –

THE CAERETAN HYDRIAI,^22 THE CAMPANA GROUP

(DINOI AND HYDRIAI),^23 THE NORTHAMPTON

GROUP,^24 THE RICCI HYDRIA^25

The Caeretan Hydriai

Some painters immigrated to Etruria from North Ionia and painted vases of large luxury
shapes (dinoi, hydriai and amphorae) for the symposium, aimed at a prestigious clientele,
often with symposiac themes and more often with mythological themes (in the Caeretan
Hydriai). The East Greek component will have a strong infl uence in Etruscan culture
also in the painting of tombs. The Caeretan hydriai, about 40 at this time, show both
mythological and human genre themes. The style is wholly Ionian, and of remarkable
quality. We can distinguish at least two painters: the Eagle Painter and the Busiris
Painter. The fi rst painter has a more calligraphic drawing style, the second is hastier. A
context with fragments of a Caeretan hydria by the Eagle Painter has been recently dated
to the last two decades of the sixth century bc.^26

The Campana group

This group consists of an amphora, hydriai and dinoi, produced between 530–520/510
bc. In the Campana dinoi can be recognized, according to Hemelrijk, three painters (the
Painter of Louvre E 737–E 739 or Ribbon Painter, the Painter of Louvre E 736 or Eight
Painter, the Hoof Painter) who worked in the same workshop, active in Vulci around
530–520 bc. They specialized in a shape of vessel for the drinking of wine, decorated
with Dionysian motifs. The style is Eastern Greek and the clay is apparently similar to
that of Klazomenai. Hemelrijk believes that the Campana dinoi were even produced in
East Greece, and imported into Etruria, but new evidence and clay analysis is needed to
conclusively decide this matter.
The Campana hydriai with animal friezes, which have a touch of the Euboean, seem
to have been made in Etruria. A. Waiblinger is inclined to attribute the hydriai to an
Etruscan workshop that produces in the style of the Tyrrhenian amphorae. To the Louvre
E 739 Painter or Ribbon Painter (Louvre E 737 to 739 of Hemelrijk) is attributed
the famous Ricci hydria. While showing an undeniably East Greek style, near to the
Enmann Group (ascribed to Phocaea by M. Martelli), the vase, according to Martelli,
would be characterized by Etruscan accents and barbarization of the Ionian style. It
must be stressed that a recent archaeometric analysis conducted on the clay of the Ricci
hydria does not seem to show affi nities with a group made up of two Campana dinoi, one
Caeretan hydria and Etruscan black-fi gure pottery. The clay of this group contains very
similar quantities of chromium and nickel.^27 Archaeometric analysis should be extended
to all vases assigned to these classes.

The Northampton group

The belly amphora of the Northampton Group (circa 540–530 bc) from Vulci, with
excellent quality of clay and paint (related to the clay of the Caeretan Hydriai), although
based on Attic models, shows an extreme elegance and exuberance in the vegetal
decoration. One could think that it was the work of an East Greek potter who, after
working in North Ionia (his environment of origin and training), moved to work in