What is in many ways the most remarkable group of Ionian vases is formed by the Caeretan hydriae, so called because they have been found almost exclusively at Caere (Cervetri) in Etruria. They form a very homogeneous group, and their typical features are unmistakable. Originally they were thought to be of local, i.e. Etruscan, manufacture, or even imitations of Corinthian vases. But since the sarcophagi of Clazomenae and the pottery of Naukratis and Daphnae have been made known and studied, it has been established beyond doubt that they stand in close relation to these undoubtedly Ionian fabrics.[[1153]] If further proof were wanted, it is to be found in a class of Etruscan vases which are clearly imitated from them (see Chapter [XVIII].).
They were first collectively discussed in 1888 by Dümmler, who gave a list of fourteen, assigning them to Phocaea; a more complete list of twenty has since been drawn up by Endt, who to some extent endorses Dümmler’s views, but is inclined to attribute them to Clazomenae, on the opposite side of the Gulf of Smyrna, thus bringing them into closer relation with the sarcophagi. Whichever be the correct view, there is no doubt that they come from this region, and the existence of a ceramic fabric at Clazomenae, as attested by the sarcophagi and a few painted fragments of pottery, is in favour of Endt’s attribution. We have also to set by the side of this the absence (so far) of any pottery at Phocaea. In any case the place must have formed part of the Naucratite confederation, and it was perhaps influenced much by Rhodes.[[1154]] That the vases have all been found at Cervetri need excite no surprise, as there is abundant evidence that certain fabrics were specially favoured by different places, and apparently made for exclusive importation.
From the circumstances of discovery of some of them they may be dated about the middle of the sixth century B.C.; the style is remarkably advanced, and shows the rapid development of Ionian art as compared with that of Continental Greece. As regards the form of the hydria, it is characterised by the egg-shaped body, the division of neck from shoulder by a moulded ring, the low flat-ribbed handle at the back, and the high concave foot. Even more marked is the system of ornamentation. The main design runs in a broad frieze round the body, broken at the back by a palmette pattern under the handle, on either side of which are usually grouped two similar or opposed figures, distinct from the principal subject. The rest of the surface is given over to floral patterns, which assume great prominence on these vases. The normal arrangement is as follows: inside the mouth a large tongue-pattern in red, bordered with black; on the neck, palmette-and-lotos pattern; on the shoulder, ivy-wreaths or other plants, treated in a naturalistic manner; round the lower part of the body, a broad band of large palmettes and lotos-flowers alternating, forming a very effective pattern and enhanced with white and purple details. An illustration in colours of a typical specimen is given on Plate [XXVI].
PLATE XXVI
To face page 354.
CAERETAN HYDRIA.
(British Museum.)
The range of subjects is wide and original, both in choice and method of treatment. We find among mythological scenes the return of Hephaistos to heaven, the rape of Europa, the contest of Herakles with Busiris, and the hunt of the Calydonian boar.[[1155]] Other subjects, such as combatants or horsemen, are more in the manner of the Clazomenae sarcophagi. A curious feature of the group is the entire absence of friezes of animals. The realistic treatment of the Egyptians on the Busiris vase, and the introduction of apes and other African animals into some of the scenes, clearly indicate a relation with that part of the world, obviously through the medium of one of the Greek colonies of Egypt. Naukratis, as we have seen, was largely colonised from Phocaea, and some of the later fragments from this site[[1156]] show a parallelism with the hydriae.
Among the smaller details which are typically Ionian may be mentioned the horse-hoofed type of Seilenos (as at Daphnae); the four-winged deities and winged boars[[1157]]; the favourite types of stag-hunts,[[1158]] horsemen, and combats, all appearing on the sarcophagi; the running dogs and the owls on horses’ backs; the high-peaked cap of women and shoes with turned-up toes. All these are generally, but not invariably, characteristic of the Ionian fabrics, as is the peculiar treatment of boys’ hair, which is tied in a tuft at the back.