Decoration: Body: HORSEMEN, NONSENSE INSCRIPTIONS Frieze below: COCK FIGHT, DOGS CHASING HARE, NET Shoulder: COURTING, YOUTHS AND MEN, ONE WITH HARE, ONE WITH COCK, DOG
Last Recorded Collection: Boston (MA), Museum of Fine Arts: 08.291
Publication Record: Barringer, J.M., The Hunt in ancient Greece (Baltimore and London, 2001): 96-97, FIGS.55-57 (S, BD, FB) Beazley, J.D., Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters (Oxford, 1956): 92 Beazley, J.D., Paralipomena (Oxford, 1971): 34 Carpenter, T.H., with Mannack, T. and Mendonca, M., Beazley Addenda, 2nd edition (Oxford, 1989): 25 Chiarini, S., The so-called Nonsense Inscriptions on Ancient Greek Vases, Between Paideia and PaidiĆ” (Leiden, 2018): 51, FIG.5 (PART OF BD) Haspels, C.H.E., Attic Black-figured Lekythoi (Paris, 1936): PL.8.2 (PART) Lear, A. and Cantarella, E., Images of ancient Greek pederasty, Boys were their gods (London and New York, 2008): 74-75, FIG.2.4A-B (PARTS) Schnapp, A., Le chasseur et la cite, Chasse et erotique dans la Grece ancienne (Paris, 1997): 256, NO.195 (DRAWING OF BD)
CAVI Lemma: BF lekythos{1}. Painter of Boston 08.291. Second quarter sixth. Ca. 560-550.
Ca. 540 (Vermeule).
CAVI Subject: Three zones: Top: male lovers. Middle: six boy horsemen to right. Bottom:
animals.
CAVI Inscriptions: Nonsense: Readings from Haspel: Top frieze: to right of the lower body of the
third man from left: χεστκτ. Similar for the sixth figure: ν[.]τκτ. Middle
frieze: the inscriptions are either behind the rider's back [α] or under the
horse's belly [β]. (There is no inscription [α] by the second rider.) νει [α].
κτεπτ [β]. εσκλππ [β]. κσπι [α]. ατι̣(σ)οι [β]. πστ [α]{2}. παοπ[..] [β]. νετ(.)
[α]. νκπι [β]. πσοει [α]. κπεκ [β]. Bottom frieze: above the cocks:
χνε̣ισ̣πο{3}. Readings from E.V. [probably better](4): Top: χοστκτ. ν^σκτ. (A
slight gap after the first letter.) Middle: numerous short inscriptions, mostly
diagonally downward, many near the heads of the riders and under the horses'
bellies: [I copied 13 as against 11 from Haspels]: νει. κτ^επτ. ν^τετ. επ̣κγ.
κσρι. (.)^ρπ̣ (Uncertain.) ατ(.)(σ)οι. π^στ. παοπ.νετ. νκρι. πσοε. κρεκ. [The
underlined words [[all except ν^τετ and (.)^ρπ̣]] seem to be in the Haspels
readings, sometimes with some difference.] Bottom: (.)ν(.)(σ)(.)πο. The dots
represent blobs of various kinds. Readings from Bérard: the middle picture
shows: under the belly of a horse, diagonally downward: κπε^(κ). The tail of the
next horse intervenes. Above the rump of the next horse, similar: νει. Under
belly of second horse, similar: κτ^επι. Tail of preceding horse intervenes.
CAVI Footnotes: {1} Deianeira shape. {2} probably complete fore. {3} not clear if complete at
end. {4} done from the facs. in AK, fig. 1, which has very small letters.
CAVI Comments: Clear letters, very neat and normal. For somewhat different readings see th
facs. in E. Vermeule's article, which however has very small letters.
CAVI Number: 2744
AVI Bibliography: Haspels (1936), 27, pl. 8,2. — Beazley (1947), 199f./α 2. — ABV (1956), 92. —
E.T. Vermeule (1969), 10/1, fig. 1 (facs. of inscriptions), pl. 4,1-4. — Para.
(1971), 34. — Add.[2] (1989), 25 (bibl.). — Bérard et al. (1989), 80, fig. 110
(3 views).
CAVI / AVI Data from Henry Immerwahr's Corpus of Attic Vase Inscriptions (CAVI), updated by Rudoph Wachter's Attic Vase Inscriptions (AVI)