The furniture of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans

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. HE URNITURE 0 F THE ______.. REEKS ~TRUSCANSAND OMANS BYG·M·A·RICHTER ?

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THE PHAIDON PRESS

© 1966 PHAIDON

TEXT PRINTED ILLUSTRATIONS

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AT THE ABERDEEN ENGRAVED

LONDON

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UNIVERSITY

BY SCHWITTER

AND PRINTED

BY V. S. K. PRINTERS

BY A. W. BAIN

AND CO. LTD·

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PRESS

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ENGLAND

CONTENTS PREFACE

I

INTRODUCTION

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AEGEAN FURNITURE MINOAN-MYCENAEAN: Thrones 5-Stools 7-Benches 7-Footstools Tables 9-Chests re-CYCLADIC:Thrones rr-Stools 12

5

8-Couches

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GREEK FURNITURE Thrones 13 ff: Ancient names 13-Thessalian throne 14-With animal legs 15-With turned legs 19-With rectangularlegs 23-With solid sides 28-The Easy Chair with back (klisn1os) 33: Ancient names 34-Archaic period 34-Fifth century 35-Fourth century and later 37-The Stool without back (diphros) 38: Ancient names 38-Five types 39-42-The Folding Stool (diphros okladias) 43: Two types 43-46-Other Stools without backs 46-The Bench 47The Footstool 49: Three types 50-51-The Couch (kline) 52: Ancient names 52-Chian and Milesimt beds 52-Delian beds 52 and 58-With animal legs 54-With turned legs 55With rectangularlegs 58-The Table (trapeza) 63: Literary evidence 63-Sicilian tables 65Five types 66-72-The Chest 72: Ancient names 72-Two types 73-77-The Shelf 78The Cupboard 79: Literary, inscriptional, alld archaeologicalevidence, 80-81-The Sideboard 81-Kylikeia 82-84

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ETRUSCAN FURNITURE Thrones 85-With solid sides 85-With animal legs 86-With turned legs 87-With rectallgular legs 88-The Stool without back (diphros) 89-The Folding Stool (diphros okladias) 89-The Bench 90-The Chair with back (klismos) 91-The Couch 91-With rectangular legs 91-With turned legs 92-With simple posts 92-The Footstool 93-The Table 93The Chest95

85

ROMAN FURNITURE The Throne (solium) 98-With animal legs 98-With turned legs 98-With rectangularlegs 99-With solid sides 99-The Chair with back (cathedra) 101-The Stool 102-The Folding Stool 103-The Bench 104-The Footstool 104-The Couch (lectus) 105-With turned legs 105-Punic beds 106-With rectangular legs 110-The Table (mensa) 110-The Chest (area) 114-The Shelf 115-The Cupboard (armarium) 115-The Sideboard (abacus) n6

97

FURNISHINGS Materials 117-Greek and Latin names 118-Covers and Pillows 118-Valances 119Curtains 119-Curtain rings 119-Canopies 120

101392

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CONTENTS

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TECHNIQUE Materials 122-Tools 124-Te1npering of metal, 124-Turning of wood, 124-Joining 125-Decoration 125-Representations on ancient n1onuments 127

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APPENDIX: Linear Perspective in representations of Greek and Roman Furniture 130Short Bibliography on Perspective 143 ILLUSTRATIONS

145

SELECTED

341

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INDEX

OF LOCALITIES

344

PREFACE

T

wo chief reasons have ind~iccd 1ne to undertake the rewri~ing of 111ybook A11~ie11t Furniture (Clarendon Press 1926). First, the 111anyrequests for copies of the book (which had been out of print for 111anyyears) showed a continuing de1nand; and, second, the successful exhibition of reproductions of ancient Greek furniture, held in Athens by E. Saridis in the spring of 1961, and elsewhere later, indicated that Greek furniture has a place also in 111oden1life.1 Not only are smne of the chairs, stools, couches, and tables adapted for the needs of today, but their si111ple,graceful forms and harn1onious proportions are an inspiration for n1odern crafts1nen. The schen1e of this book is si111ilarto, and yet different from, that in the old volmne. As before, n1y chief interest has been the establisl11nentof the various types that were used throughout the centuries and the tracing of their chronological develop1nent in a few select exa1nples. The classification, evolution, and dating of these various types as set forth before could be retained with relatively few changes (the chief being in the section on the thrones with solid sides). I have also retained the short accounts of Egyptian prototypes of the Greek fonns 2 ; for the Greeks were ever ready to learn from their predecessors, and did so in furniture as in other branches of art, invariably, however, changing their borrowings to suit their own taste. The chief changes in this new book are: The addition of a short chapter on Aegean furniture, for the Mycenaeans, having become Greeks, can no longer be excluded, and inevitably they bring with then1 the Minoans and the Cycladics. The enlarge1nent of the Etruscan and Ro1nan sections. The bringing up-to-date of the Greek section, and the consequent rewriting of much of it; for, though not so n1uch has happened during the last decades in ancient furniture as in other branches of Greek art, there have nevertheless been i1nportant additions, e.g. the actual wooden pieces that have come to light in Sa111os,Olyn1pia, Bulgaria, and Cerveteri, and the 111anynew fifth- and fourth-century vases found in Spina, South Italy, and elsewhere. Moreover, I have added short chapters on Greek cupboards, sideboards, benches, and shelves, which I had omitted before, as well as a chapter on furnishings. Also included is an appendix on ancient linear perspective as illustrated in the representations of Greek and Roman funuture; for I have found this a useful and revealing study. In an amplified bibliography I have listed the n1ost important publications on Greek furniture -and its derivatives-of past and present years; but I have given also specific references in the footnotes for the objects cited-for the Attic vases chiefly to Beazley's A.B. V. and A.R. V., and for representations on the South Italian chiefly to Trendall' s publications-and re1narks. Since it is of interest to know the Greek and Latin names of the different pieces of furniture that 1.

ClassicalGreece,by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and C. W. Pullin (1963).

As a result of this exhibition a number of private individuals and Museums have ordered reproductions and adaptations ofGreekfurniturefortheir houses and galleries. The reproductions were manufactured by E. Saridis of Athens after designs by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings of New York, and are now published, side by side with their Greek prototypes, in a book entitled FurnittJreof

2.

I

Mr. Hollis S. Baker of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is preparing a volume on Egyptian and Oriental furniture, which will use the Greek descendants in a similar way that I use the Egyptian antecedents.

2

PREFACE

are so often represented on the n1onmnents, I have treated this subject in 1nore detail than I had before. For much light has been shed on this intricate question by the recent publication of the inscriptions listing the confiscated property of Alkibiades and his associates (dated 415/ 4 B.C. ), which included various articles of furniture and furnishings, together with the prices paid for them at the sale.3 In these lists it is apparent that different names are often assigned to one type of chair, or couch, or table. But the sa1ne, after all, applies to the na1nes of Athenian vases,4 and corresponds to modem practice (e.g. couch, bed, divan, sofa, lounge). It seen1ed best for the purpose of this book to adoptwhatevidently was the chief tern1 for each fonn,e.g. KAlvYJfor couch, instead of continually adding the alternatives, i.e. KAWT~P,KAivl8wv, aK{µ7rov~,xaµwva, aaKO.VTY)~; though these are listed in my discussions of each type of furniture. On the whole it seen1s unlikely that there existed fonns of couches, chairs, tables, and chests different fr0111 those regularly depicted on the con tern porary vase-paintings and sculptures. These are and n1ust re1nain our best evidence for the understanding of ancient furniture; and, incidentally, they are in every case borne out by the few actual pieces that have here and there survived. I have 1nany colleagues to thank for assistance, not only in the arduous task of assem.bling the photographs for the illustrations (those used in the 1926 volmne were no longer available), but for helpful suggestions and criticisn1s. Besides the directors and curators where the objects illustrated reside (in Greece, Italy, Turkey, England, France, Gern1any, Austria, Holland, Belgimn, Russia, Bulgaria, and America), I want to mention especially C. W. Blegen, who has read my chapter on Aegean furniture, as well as Miss Barbara Philippaki, Mrs. Alan W ace, and Mrs. French, who have made further suggestions for this chapter; A. D. Trendall, who has helped 111ewith the representations on South Italian vases; T. Dohrn, who has looked over the section on Etruscan furniture; and M. Guarducci and A. E. Raubitschek for assistance in the dating of the inscriptions. Also, I want in particular to thank the staff of the Agora excavations in Athens (above all Miss Alison Frantz); Mr. G. Daux of the Ecole Franc;aise in Athens; and the Gennan Institutes of Archaeology in Rome, Athens, and Istanbul, all of whom have been of great assistance in n1y researches; also Marion Lawrence, R. Calza, and B. Conticello for suggestions in the Ro1nan section; and Nora Scott for help in citing my Egyptian prototypes. The staff of the library of the American Academy in Rome has, as usual, been of the greatest help. I am also especially grateful to the directors of the Phaidon Press, who have let 1ne add 1nany new illustrations, which will increase the interest and usefulness of the book; and in particular to Dr. I. Grafe for a nmnber of valuable literary references-some specifically acknowledged in the text.

G. M.A. R.

3. Cf. W. K. Pritchett, Hesperia, XXII, 1953, pp. 225 ff., and xxv, 1956, pp. 178 ff.

4. Cf. M. J. Milne, in Richter and Milne, Shapes and Names of Greek Vases,pp. xm £

INTRODUCTION has been a son1~what neglected ~tudy_,compared at l_eastto that of other branches of Greek art, for the simple reason, I 1magme, that practically nothing of it survives. Ancient furniture, like ours today, was n1ostly of wood, ·which is apt to disintegrate, or of bronze, which was 1nelted down in ti1nes of stress. This does not 1ncan, however, that we have no knowledge of Greek furniture. Not only are there frequent references in ancient literature to these con1n1on household articles, but in the n1any scenes of daily life and of mythology depicted in vase-paintings and on reliefs, and in bronze and terracotta statuettes, furniture is of course often represented; and since such monuments are generally datable within fairly narrow limits, one can trace the developn1ent of the different styles fron1 century to century. Thereby one can obtain a visualization of the interiors of Greek houses during different periods. It is a picture of c01nparative simplicity, at least in the earlier periods; for the ancient Greeks had not the multitudinous possessions that we have today. Chairs, stools, couches, tables, and chests constituted practically all the furniture they possessed. The couches served the double purpose of our sofa and bed, the tables were small and portable, and boxes, large and small, took the place of our closets and wardrobes. Desks were unknown, and books not plentiful enough to necessitate bookcases (until perhaps Hellenistic ti1nes, cf. p. Sr). Many household articles in daily use were hung up on the walls or placed on shelves. One must imagine, then, the Greek houses rather empty, even bare, co1npared with our crowded interiors; but on the whole dignified and restful. For even in the sin1pler houses the furniture had good lines, there were painted and inlay decorations on the 111orefonnal pieces, and the brilliantly coloured covers and pillows-which took the place of our 1nodern upholsteryadded life and richness to the general effect. The picture changes somewhat in Hellenistic times, and especially in the Ron1an period when bookcases and wardrobes were in common use. But the fonns of the chairs, couches, tables, and chests ren1ained for a considerable time the sa1ne, son1ewhat elaborated, however, to correspond to current taste. The interest in the study of Greek furniture is manifold. First, it is revealing of the ancient mentality and approach to art. We shall fmd that in furniture-as in architecture, pottery, and early sculpture-the Greeks were content with a few types and with perfecting these in a gradual evolution, instead of continually inventing new designs. Within a relatively sn1all nmnber of recognizable forms, however, there is infinite variety of details. And these change fron1 period to period, reflecting the current styles, so that it is possible to assign each piece, each representation to an approxin1ate date. In this connection it is interesting to note that whereas nowadays a furniture 1nanufacturer would be apt to produce various articles all in his own shop, in antiquity the work was evidently divided. 1 At least, one hears of specialists in the making of couches 2 (KALV07TYJyol, KAivo7Towl,KAtvovpyol), of thrones 3 (0povo7Towl),of chests4 (KifJwTo7Towl);and of tables (cf.

G

I. 2.

REEK FURNITURE

3. PolluxVII, 182. 4. Plutarch, De genio Socr.,580E; Pollux

Cf. Bliimncr, Tec/1110/ogie 11. Ter111illologie, II, p. 326. Plato, Rep11blic, x, pp. 591 ff.; Pollux VII, 159 and 1I r. 2

3

VII,

159, 160.

4

INTRODUCTION

Strabo' s use of the word Tpa1rElo1rota in IV, p. 6.2 ). This would scen1 to suggest careful and exacting work, requiring specialization. Another interesting aspect of Greek fun1iture is the fact that the same types recur throughout the Greek world, and later all over the Ro1nan e1npire. The same forms of chairs, couches, tables are found in Greece, Asia Minor, South Italy, and southen1 Russia, from the sixth to the second century n.c., and during the R01nan period in Italy, North Africa, the East, as well as Gaul, and Britain, fron1 the first century n.c. to the fourth century A.D. Historically this is a significant phenon1cnon, revealing the closely knit character of the Greek, and later of the Roman world. Presun1ably carpenters, like sculptors, travelled extensively and thus fostered a unity of outlook. Also significant in this connection is the close dependence of Etruscan furniture on the Greek-except.in its earliest phases, when it shows some Oriental influence. In the Aegean world the furniture shows close similarity between the Mycenaean and the Minoan forms in furniture as in the other arts. Moreover, one can watch in Greek funuture, perhaps better than anywhere else, the developn1ent of linear perspective as practised in Greek and Ron1an ti1nes. One can see its tentative introduction in the first half of the fifth century B.c., its gradual evolution during the succeeding centuries, and one can realize its limitations throughout this period. A knowledge of ancient linear perspective is indeed essential for the right interpretation of the furniture depicted on the ancient monuments; for 'faulty' perspective sometimes distorts the objects represented and leads to a misunderstanding of their forms. The study of ancient furniture has, furthermore, the great attraction that many of the f onns in use today and in our more in1mediate past were ultimately derived fr01n the Greek and Ron1an. So, in order to understand the background of the furniture which surrounds us, a knowledge of their predecessors is essential. Incidentally this knowledge also sometimes serves to detect n1istakes on the part of the modem forger. Artistically, archaeologically, and historically, therefore, an intimate knowledge of Greek furniture-and its derivatives-is important.

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

MINOAN-MYCENAEAN As a prelude to a study of the furniture of the Greeks it no,v see1ns called for to give also a short account of what is known of the furniture of their predecessors, the Mycenaeans. And with the Mycenaeans one must group the Minoans, since in the two sin1ilar forn1s of furniture appear. For our knowledge of this furniture comparatively scanty data exist. Nevertheless, enough actual pieces as well as representations have survived to enable us, to s01ne extent at least, to visualize the equipment of Minoan-Mycenaean interiors. Moreover, to this evidence have now been added the revealing references to furniture on the tablets with Linear B script (cf. infra). The furniture consisted-as it did later in Greece-of formal and infonnal seats, footstools, couches, tables, and chests. Let us briefly examine the available evidence for each of these basic articles of furniture.

THRONES The well known throne of Knossos (fig. I )-with its high, perpendicular back of undulating contour and its slightly concave seat resting on four legs mounted on a low platfonn, which also served as a footstool-is the only one of its kind that has survived practically entire. 1 But that thrones were regular appurtenances of Minoan and Mycenaean palaces is indicated by the traces they have left behind. Remains indicating the presence of thrones have con1e to light, for instance, in the private apartments of Knossos, as well as in the Royal Villa. 2 In the megaron ofTiryns the place for a throne was indicated by the painting on the pave1nent. 3 There were traces of a throne also at Pylos: 'The royal throne was nearly centered against the right hand wall, facing the hearth. It was n1ade of perishable material, probably wood, no doubt decorated with ivory and other inlaid work, and no remains of it have survived the fire.' 4 Certainly in the Iliad and the Odyssey-if they can be used as evidence-thrones are frequently mentioned. And in the furniture lists of Linear B the word tonos, interpreted as throne, frequently occurs (cf. infra). Several different types of thrones appear in the cult scenes depicted in Minoan and Mycenaean seal engravings. 5 On a gold ring fr01n Tiryns, 6 for instance, a goddess is represented sitting on a 5. Some of the thrones that appear on clay sealings and

1899-1900, pp. 37 ff., fig. 8; Kulczycki, Bos, xxx, 1930-31, p. 580, pl. I, fig. r. 2. Ebert, Reallexikon, xxm, 1929, p. 298. 3. Tiryns, Ergebnisse,II, pl. XIX, IV, 145, pl. xxxm; Ebert, op. cit. xm, p. 298. 4. Blegen and Rawson, A Guide to the Palaceof Nestor (1962), fig. 7. 1. C£ Evans, B.S.A.

VI,

engraved gems are now thought to be forgeries; cf. e.g. Kenna, Cretan Seals, p. 154, pls. 20, 21 (= pieces of doubtful authenticity in the Ashmolean Museum). 6. Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. vr, fig. 19; Marinatos, Crete and Mycenae, pl. 207, top; Evans, Palaceof Minos, IV, p. 460, figs. 385,393, 329. 5

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FURNITURE

throne with crossed legs and a high, slightly curving back (fig. 3a). On another gold ring, from Mycenae, is a sin1ilar throne, but with perpendicular legs7 (fig. 3b ). A s1nall,well preserved bronze throne was found at Enkon1i in Cyprus in 1950 (fig. 6), together with a statuette which evidently belonged to it. 8 It has straight, rectangular legs, with stretchers, and a perpendicular back, consisting of two vertical posts, to which a thick animal skin is attached at the height of the shoulders; bronze cords imitate the plaiting of the seat, and a rectangular footstool is soldered to the front legs. The date assigned to it is the twelfth to eleventh century B.C. An entirely different type of throne occurs in a series of terracottas from various localitics. 9 Figs. 8-19 show exa111plcsfron1 Delphi 10 (figs. 8-rr); fron1 Mycenae 11 (fig. 12), Tiryns 12(fig. 14), Nauplia13 (fig. 18), Cyprus 14 (fig. 13), the Argive Heraion 15 (fig. 15), the Argive Heraion 16 (fig. 16), perhaps fr0111Athens 17 (fig. 19), and one in the Helene Stathatos Collection, now in the National Museun1, Athens 18 (fig. 17). All arc of the san1e basic fonn, varied in detail, with rounded back, generally extending to the sides, and supported by three sloping legs. Somcti111esa figure is placed inside it, generally fe111ale,occasionally with a child. In one of the exa1nples fron1 Delphi (fig. II) the figure is seen frmn the back (the top is 1nissing). The back of the throne, instead of being solid, is sometimes in open-work (cf figs. 12-14, 18). A ren1arkable ensemble containing seats of divinities-which 1nay,therefore be tern1ed thronescame to light near Phaistos. In the antechamber of a tholos t0111bat Kamilari was discovered a little clay group, apparently representing son1e religious scene19 (fig. 7). Votaries arc shown approaching several divinities, each of ·whom is sitting on a seat with solid sides and a low back. In front of them are cylindrical altars; behind the1n rises a high wall. In spite of its primitiveness and cursory execution, it is one of the most vivid scenes of Minoan religion that have come down to us. In 1964 were found in Thebes, in what is believed to have been the palace of Kadmos, two substantial ivory legs Q1t.c. 38·5 c1n., width 9·5-II cm.). 20 One is in fair condition (cf. fig. 4), 7. Marinatos, op. cit. pl. 206, 4th row, right. 8. Schaeffer, Enkomi-Alasia, pp. 371 ff., fig. II5, pls. LXXII, LXXIII; Catling, Cypriot Bronze Work in the Mycenaean Period, pp. 253 f., pl. 45, c-e; E. Bacon, Diggingfor History (1960), p. 124, pl. 3r. 9. Cf. on these terracotta thrones Mylonas, in The Aegean and the Near East, Studies preseutcd to H. Goldman, pp. no ff. Cf. also E. B. French, Tlie Development of Mycenaean TerracottaFig11ri11es, witb special referenceto unpublishedmaterialfrom Mycenae, chapter v, section 5 (Diss. London University, 1961; publication forthcoming). ro. In the Delphi Museum, inv. 2647; Pedrizet, Fo11illes de Delphes, v, p. 14, fig. 60, p. 15, no. 6; Demangel, F.d.D., Ilb, fasc. 3, Sanctuaired'Athena, pp. 27 f, fig. 32. 1 r. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 2261. 12. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 1501. Cf. Schliemann, Tyrins, pl. xm, c; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. III, 8. 13. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 3554. From a chamber tomb.

14. In the Metropolitan Museum, New York, 74.5r.171r. From the Cesnola Collection, purchased by subscription 1874-76. Myres, Handbook of the Cesnola Collection,no. 2018; Richter, Handbook of tlie Greek Collection,1954, p. 15, pl. 7, c. 15. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 14156. Height 13·5 cm. Waldstein,Argii 1e HeraettmI, p.79,u, p.92; Blegen, Prosymna I, p. 366, n, figs. 136, 619. Late Helladic III period. 16. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 2397. 17. Cf. Rolley, in CollectionHelene Strathatos, III (ed. P. Amandry), pp. 38f., no. 13, fig. 17 (there considered to be perhaps sub-Mycenaean). 18. In the Louvre, CA 3317. Mallard, Cat. I, p. 1, no. A 2, pl. I. 19. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 14230. 20. Cf. Kathemerine,April 1964, p. 9; N. Platon and Evi Stassinopoulos-Touloupa, Illustrated London News, Dec. 5, 1964, pp. 896 f., fig. 4. In the Museum of Thebes, where I was allowed to study them and to have them photographed by Miss Alison Frantz with the kind permission of Mr. Platon.

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

7

the other less so, but with the rosette at one end better preserved (cf. fig. 5). Inuncdiately below the rosette, on two adjoining sides (cf. fig. 4), are rectangular holes (the upper one 8 cm., the lower one 6 c111.deep), which, it ,vould seem, served for the insertion of the tenons that fastened the railings of the seat to the legs of a throne. (An alternative theory, sponsored by Mr. Platon, is that the rosette was at the bottom instead of the top, and that the legs 'decorated the front part of a canopy of the throne of some king'. 21 ) The ivory is blackened by fire 22 , the fire which is thought to have destroyed the palace. The forn1 of these legs-vertical lozenge-shaped me1nbers (in two tiers, the lower one decorated by a large wave pattern), sunnounting four rows of arching leaves-has, as far as I know, no parallel in extant Minoan or Mycenaean furniture, resembling rather Oriental designs.22 Was perhaps the piece of furniture to which these ivory legs belonged an Oriental importation?

STOOLS In addition to these 'thrones', mostly occupied by deities and occasionally occur. Again there are different fonns. Part of stool fro1n the Argive Heraion is in the National Museun1, Athens (fig. 20 ). Two si1nilar seats appear on a gold ring fr0111 Thisbe, which has been assigned to the Middle Minoan III period. 23 A backless seat of tabouret shape, on a gold ring fron1 Mycenae 24 (fig. 3c) is serving as the seat of a goddess. What may be termed a folding-stool, with crossed legs, appears on a sealing from Knossos25 (see drawing); and en a Middle Minoan sealing from Crete. 26 Of great interest because of its rarity is what appears to be an ivory foot, perhaps from a s1nall stool, found at Mycenae 27 (diam. c. 6· 5 cn1.).

kings, backless seats, that is, stools, a miniature terracotta four-legged

Goddess reaching out to receive an offering, on a sealing from Knossos. Drawing. (Kenna, Cretan Seals, p. 57)

BENCHES In addition to these single seats, benches accom1nodating several persons were used. In the throne room of Knossos these benches, set against the wall, are of stone, of plain, rectangular fonn (cf. fig. I). There the councillors sat and conferred with the king, who alone sat on a throne. 2r. Cf. loc. cit. The hole at the bottom of the well preserved leg (diam. 2.3 cm., depth 3.1 cm.) is evidently a natural cavity in the tusk of the elephant, for there is no such hole at the bottom of the other leg. 22. E.g. in Achaemenian thrones. 23. Evans, Palaceof Minos, II, 1, fig. 194, d; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. v, no. 14.

24. Marinatos, op. cit. fig. 206, 3rd row, right; Evans, P. of M. m, p. 464, fig. 324; Kulczycki, op. cit. Pl. I, 3. 25. Kenna, Cretan Seals, p. 57, fig. 120; Evans, P. of M. IV, pp. 599, 604. Late Minoan. 26. Evans, P. of M., n, fig. 491; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. VI, 18. to Homer, pl. 36, b. 27. Wace and Stubbings, A Co111panio11

8

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

Clay benches have also been found in the Palace ofNestor at Pylos, both in the Archives Room and in the neighbouring Waiting Roon1.28

FOOTSTOOLS The evidence for Minoan-Mycenaean footstools is particularly interesting. On a gold ring fr01n Tiryns is engraved a goddess resting her feet on a footstool of rectangular shape with looped ends (fig. 3a). On tablets with Linear B script, found in the famous archive room at Pylos, a word several times occurs that has been transcribed ta-ra-nu and equated to tbe Greek 0p17vvr;;. Sometimes the word taranuappears in c01nbination with the word tono (= throne?), and is then illustrated with an ideogra1n depicting a rectangular object with looped ends-just like the one on the Tiryns ring. 29 Furthermore, two sets of ivory decorations with voluted ends, found respectively at Mycenae and Dcndra, niay be fron1 the fronts of footstools. 30 There have also been found at Mycenae a few 1niniature terracotta footstools, rectangular, with four low feet, and decorated by a chequer pattern on the upper surface-so Mrs. French informs me. 31 (The difference between a low stool and a footstool is of course son1etimes difficult to tell; c£ n1y fig. 20). The occasional n1ention of footstools in the H01neric poe1ns is well known (c£ p. 49 ). It has been suggested that the large number of footstools cited on the Pylos tablets, compared to much fewer chairs, niay reflect a prevalent custom of using footstools for sitting on as well as for resting one's feet. That no actual full-size footstools have been found is easily explained by their having been 1nade of wood and other perishable material, and so having long ago disappeared.

COUCHES Though beds and couches must have existed in every Minoan and Mycenaean household, few actual examples have survived. In 'the back rooms of the domestic quarter' at Knossos was found an oblong platform of plaster-covered stonework, I· 50 m. by So cm., which has been interpreted as 'some kind of bed or couch'. 32 And in some of the Mycenaean chan1ber tombs at Phaistos similar rectangular platforms, bearing the skeletons of bodies, have con1e to light. 33 Some idea of the form of Mycenaean couches may be obtained from a 1niniature terracotta exan1ple found in a chan1ber tomb at the Argive Heraion 34 and dating fr01n the Late Helladic III period (fig. 22).It has four short legs and raised head- and foot-rests; the crossed lines on the upper surface are evidently meant to represent the cordings. 28. So Mr. Blegen informs me. 29. Ventris and Chadwick, Dowmrnts i11 Mycenaean Greek, pp. 345 f., no. 246. 30. Wace and Stubbings, op. cit. p. 533, fig. 61, a, b; Ventris and Chadwick, op. cit. p. 346, fig. 23.

3 I. 32. 33. 34.

Cf. E. French, op. cit. chapter v, sections 5-6. Evans, B.S.A. VIII, 1901-2, p. 62. C[ Evans, loc. cit. In chamber tomb XXIX; c£ Blegen, Prosymna,fig. 156, no. 421.

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

9

What apparently is another such terracotta n1iniaturecouch, also of the late Helladic III period, ca111eto light at Zygouries, 35 and is in the Musemn of Corinth (fig.23 ). It too has short legs, but here there is no indication of head- or foot-rest. The upper surface is slightly concave, and the wavy lines on it presmnably indicate the cover, while the three rows of dots at one end 111ust represent the pillow. 36 Still another such terracotta 111iniaturecouch, with two people lying on it, is in the Musemn of Budapest 37 (fig. 24-25 ). And there are, Elizabeth French tells 111e,several unpublished couches of this type else,vhere. Furthennore, on a tablet with Linear B script is apparently recorded 'a distribution of de-1ni-nija (= Hon1. 8'1µ,via,beds) to both men and women'. In the Ho111ericpoems beds are of course familiar objects (cf. pp. 52 f.). The lack of Minoan and Mycenaean representations of beds is easily explained by the fact that they would not be appropriate in the cult scenes generally depicted on the frescoes and seal-engravings. The actual ones must have been of wood and so have disappeared.

TABLES There is also evidence for the forms of Minoan-Mycenaean tables. Again there are several types. One type, with a round table-leaf, mounted on three, generally sloping, legs, seen1s to have been specially popular. Fig. 21 shows a miniature terracotta example from the akropolis of Mycenae, now in Athens. 38 Figs. 26, 27 illustrate three-legged plaster stands, probably tables of offerings, from Mycenae and Pylos, now also in Athens. 39 Furthermore, such three-legged tables appear on engraved sealstones; c£ the drawing, an exa111plein the Ashn1olean Musemn, Oxford, with a representation of a boar being slaughtered 011it. 40 A number of analogous tables, one nearly c01nplete, others frag1nentary, have come to light at Pylos. 41 Also at Pylos 'was found a circular table-leaf, about 50 cin. in diameter, which was probably supported on three legs; it has a carved Table-like altar on which a boar is being sacrificed. design along the edge, and a simple inlaid decora- Drawing after a sealstone in the Ashmolean Museum, tion on the upper surface. At other sites fragments Oxford 35. From tomb xxxv; cf. Blegen, Zygo11ries,p. 206, fig. 39. In the National Museum, Athens, no inv. number. It was found by Marinatos in a tholos tomb near ancient 196. Pylos. 36. As Rebecca Robinson pointed out to me. 40. Kenna, Cretall Seals, p. 136, no. 332, pl. 13. Ash37. Cf. K. Majewski, Bulletilld11Musee hongroisdesBea11xmolean Museum 1938, ro86. Arts, no. 9, 1956, p. 6, fig. I. 4r. So Mr. Blegen informs me. 38. Inv. 272r. Found by Tsountas on the akropolis of Mycenae.

IO

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

of what may be legs of tables have been found, s01ne tenninating below in lion's paws' (C. W. Blegen, in a letter). 42 It is interesting to note that this type of table-with round table-leaf and three sloping legsrecurs a1nong early Italic exa1nples (cf. p. 95 ). Another type of table, also with a round leaf, but mounted on a single, central support, is seen on an agate sealstone fr01n the Idaean cave, dated in the late Minoan II-a pcriod 43 (sec drawing). It evidently there served as an altar. Still another type appears on the Haghia Triada sarcophagus,44 where a large, rectangular table is represented with two (presun1ably really four) stout legs, oman1cnted with turnings; on it a bull is being sacrificed (fig. 2 ). And what appear to be other rectangular four-legged tables occur on engraved sealstones from Mycenae, 45 on which again anin1als are being slaughtered. Furthermore, a miniature stone stand, also with four Table-like altar, engraved on a rock crystal short supports, came to light at Mochlos 46 and 1nay repro- from the Idaean cave. Drawing. (Kenna, Cretan Seals, p. 65) duce another rectangular table form. And perhaps the round and rectangular 'libation tables' fr0111Knossos and elsewhere 47 could also be classed as table forn1s, though being used for offerings, they more likely rank as altars.

CHESTS Regarding the chests of the Minoan-Mycenaean period we are c01nparatively well infonned, for numerous terracotta sarcophagi in the form of chests have survived. The lid is either gabled or flat, and there are generally four feet formed by the prolongation of the comer posts. They resemble in fact the Egyptian chests (cf. p. 73 ). Fig. 30 shows a typical example in the Louvre. 48 The fan1ous sarcophagus from Haghia Triada, now in Heraclion (fig. 2 ), is of this fonn, but has lost its lid. A particularly interesting specimen has recently been found near the door of a tholos t01nb at Kan1ilari, near Phaistos 49 (fig. 29). It shows the n1ethod used for fastening the lid to the chest; instead of the knobs that occur on the Egyptian and Greek chests (cf. figs. 380 ff), there are two sets of loops. Similar loops appear on a Middle Minoan I/II chest fr01n Central Crete, but there without feet 50 (fig. 28). 42. Cf. also Blegen,AJ.A. LIX, 1955, p. 34. 43. Kenna, Cretan Seals, p. 65, note 9. 44. Marinatos, Crete a11d Mycenae, pl.

46. Seager, Moclzlos, p. 53, fig. 13; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. IX, 30. xxvm (in 47. Evans, P. of M. II, 1, fig. 175; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. colour). IX, 28, 29, pl. VIII, 24. 45. Furtwangler, A.G. pl. 11, 18, 22; Hutchinson, Pre- 48. MN B 473. historic Crete (1962), p. 226; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. 49. D. Levi, Amrnario,1961-62, p. 34, fig. 3 r. VIII, 26. 50. Marinatos, op. cit. pl. 25, bottom; from near Voru.

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

II

Fragn1ents of a ,vooden, gold-plated object, found by Schliemann in the fifth shaft grave at Mycenae, and now in the National Museun1 of Athens, 51 have been reconstructed as a little chest (fig. 32). The plaques are ornan1entcd in relief with lions and other animals in the contorted Mycenaean attitudes. That there were in addition simple, sn1all chests, round and rectangular, is indicated by the object held in the hands of the wo1nan on the well-known fresco frmn Tiryns. 52 Moreover, a s111all,cylindrical casket, without feet, and decorated on its surface with reliefs of ani111als,ca1ne to light in a tholos tmnb at Menidi 53 (fig. 3I). It is a charn1ing, dainty object. On this son1ewhat 111eagreshowing of Minoan-Mycenaean funiiture a flood of light has been shed by the vivid descriptions of the decoration of furniture on the tablets with Linear B script-as now interpreted. 54 We hear there of chairs 'inlaid with 111en'sfigures in gold'; of footstools 'inlaid with ivory pomegranates and running spirals', and 'inlaid with ivory lion's heads, and with a 1nan and a horse', as well as with 'an octopus and a griffin in ivory' (some of the words are uncertain). We can in fact now visualize the Minoan and Mycenaean funuture as splendid adjuncts to the smnptuous palaces in which these objects were placed, and as the worthy counterparts to the gleaniing equipment of the Tutankha1nen ton1b. In explaining the forms of Minoan and Mycenaean furniture one is struck with two things. First is the fact that-as far as one can tell-there was not the same steady evolution as there was in the Greek; for the forn1s show great variety without any apparent development. Secondly it is noteworthy that there seems to be no close relationshlp between Minoan-Mycenaean funuture and that of archaic Greece. Though the Mycenaeans were apparently Greeks, their funuture, like the other branches of their art, show kinshlp with the Minoan, not with the early Greek of either the geometric or the later periods. In other words, the distinct break between the two civilizations -Mycenaean and Greek-is also apparent in the funliture.

CYCLADIC

FURNITURE

A word may also be said here about Cycladic funiiture, since the Cycladic civilization also belongs to the Aegean world. Among the Cycladic statuettes found on the Islands and also occasionally on the mainland several are shown seated on elaborate thrones. Fig. 33 illustrates an example in New York 55 of a man playing the harp. The throne has a hlgh, straight back, partly hollowed out at the back, supported by four post-like legs. The tenons connecting the legs with the seat-rail are clearly n1arked at the back. 53. In the National Museum, Athens, inv. 1984. in Mycenaean circle A. Cf. Karo, Schachtgraber von Mykenai, p. 54. Ventris and Chadwick, Dow111e11ts Greek, pp. 234 ff. 143, nos. 808-SII, pl. 143, 144; Marinatos, op. cit. 55. Richter, Handbookof the Greek Collection,Metr. Mus. pl. 199, bottom. 1954, p. 15, pl. 6. 52. Schliemann, Tiry11s,n, pl. VII, 13; Bossert, Alt Kreta, fig. 212; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. XIV, 46.

51. Inv. 808-SII. Found in the fifth shaft grave, in grave

12

AEGEAN

FURNITURE

In a sinular statuette of a harpist in the National Museun1 of Athens 56 (fig. 34) the back of the throne is elliptical and not solid, and the sides continue downward to forn1 the two perpendicular back legs, whlch are matched by two perpendicular legs in front; in addition there are on each side a pair of curving struts starting in the centre of the scat-rail and continuing downward to meet the perpendicular 111c1nbers-a strange superfluity, it would sec1n, of supports. A simple, four-legged stool without back appears in another Cycladic statuette found near Teke, north ofKnossos 57 (fig. 35). Si1nilar stools, from Thera, serve two n1usicians as seats.58 And a sin1ilar, fragmentary stool appears on what apparently is another statuette of a n1usician, from Naxos, also in Athens 59 (fig. 36). Like the rest of Cycladic art-the prinutive, cubistic statuettes of women, the 1narble and terracotta vases and the n1etalwork-the Cycladic thrones represent an independent phenon1enon, unrelated to either Mino~n or Egyptian. Our understanding of this civilization, datable between 3000 and 2000 B.c., is still fragmentary. Perhaps light will come from Anatolia, for sinular, 1narble statuettes, also datable in the thlrd 1nillennium B.c., have recently (r957) been found at Beycesultan. 60

56. Perrot and Chipiez, Histoire d'Art, vr, fig. 385;

Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. n, 6. 57. Marinatos, op. cit. pl. II, bottom, left. 58. Bossert, op. cit. figs, 120, a, b; Kulczycki, op. cit. pl. V, 15. 59. In the National Museum, Athens; here illustrated

with the kind permission of the director of the Museum. 60. Shown in the exhibition in the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, May-June, 1964; c£ L'Arte degli Ittiti e le civilta artistichedell' Anatolia, nos. 27-35 (nos. 27, 28, 33 are illustrated).

GREEK

FURNITURE

WHEN one conies to Greek furniture the picture entirely changes. Though,as is well known, very little of it survives, so n1any representations occur on the hundreds and thousands of vase-paintings and reliefs, fr01n the eighth century B.C. down, that one can obtain a very clear visualization of its successive stages. As we have said (cf. p. 3), Greek furniture consisted of chairs of various kinds, stools, couches, tables, and chests. Within these categories there were relatively few forn1s, and they persisted through the centuries, evolving fro111period to period, with infinite variety in detail. In this account I shall treat each type separately and study it fron1 archaic to Hellenistic tin1es. Thereby one can obtain a picture of the developn1ent of furniture forn1s comparable to that of sculpture and other branches of Greek art.

SEATS The chief types of Greek seats were the throne, often provided with a back and annrests; the light easy chair with curving back, but no supports for the arn1s; the backless stool, generally with four perpendicular legs; the folding-stool with crossed legs; and the bench, on which several people could sit. Throughout Greek ti1nes, fro111the eighth to the second century B.c., these types of seats regularly appear on the 1nonun1ents. The ancient na1nes of these seats can be ascertained through the evidence of inscriptions and the 1nention of then1 bvI Greek writers fron1 Homer down. Son1etimes there is a transference of the name from one seat to another (the tenn thronos, for instance, was occasionally used for other forms of chairs); or one type of seat is referred to by several different na1nes; or a special type of chair is referred to si1nply by the generic name of seat. But Athenaios, evidently quoting from earlier sources, describes the chief forn1s of Greek chairs as follows (v, 192, e, f): 'Now the throne, taken by itself alone, is the chair of a man of high birth .... The klisn1os is provided n1ore smnptuously with an inclined back. Poorer than either of these was the diphros', o yap 0p6vos avTo >\ 0Eptos EU'TLV > 0 t > \ µovov E/\EV Ka Eopa. . . . 0 OE K/\Laµos 7TEPLT'TV'TEpws KEKoaµ77TaL avaK/\LUEL. 'TOV'TWV 0 I

I

I

I >

E7T

FEET >

15 /4 -

-

aVTOV ypa'Pll

I

\

>

I\

/J,E/J,L/J,1]/J,EVaKaL ayal\µaTa

I

In the long account of these decorations one also learns a few details of the construction of the throne, na1ncly that it had a back, and a footstool, both richly orna1nented, and that it had stretchers, as well as additional supports from foot to foot, Twv DE EK Tov > 0povov /J,ETas t;.\V 1TOOWII TEaaapES KaVOVES ELULV EK 1TOOOS ES 1TOoa ETEpov OLYJKWV EKaaTOS .•• t 0 f;\ (' / Janv

dpyaaµEva.

I

-

ELpyaap,EVa TTJS

KEOpov.

Our knowledge of the forms of Greek chests is derived fr01n representations on Greek vases and reliefs, as well as fr01n sonic actual exa111plcsin the round. Two chief types 1nay be distinguished-one with a flat lid, and another with a gabled lid.

Type r. With fiat lid. ARCHAICPERIOD.Early examples of chests with a flat lid have been found in Cyprus. 5 Fig. 383 shows one in the Metropolitan Musemn, of rectangular shape, with four feet and with plain sides, in terracotta; a knob on its front side, to which doubtless another on the missing lid corresponded, served for fastening the two parts together with a string, just as in the Egyptian exa1nples. This sa111e1nethod of fastening is referred to in the Odyssey(vrn, 43 8 ff.), when Arete brings a chest to Odysseus from the treasure cha1nber, ftill of gifts, and then addresses hi111with winged words: 'Look now thyself to the lid and quickly cast a cord on it lest someone despoil thee of thy goods on the way.' Whereupon Odysseus 'straightway fitted on the lid and quickly cast a cord 1rwµ,a,0ows o' E1TL OEaµ,ovLYJAEV 1TOLKLAOV ), which queenly upon it-a cunning knot (avTLK'E1T~pTVE Circe once had taught him'. The same device of two knobs and string continued during the classical period, as shown by the representations on the n1011un1ents-and it has survived in altered fonn on so1ne of our envelopes for 'printed 1natter'. There are not 1nany chests represented on black-figured vases, for such containers belong n1ostly in indoor scenes picturing the occupations of women. They bec01nc popular, however, in red-figure, both early and late. They then occur, besides in w01ncn's apartments, also in the exposure scenes of Greek mythology, with one or 1norc people sitting or standing inside. (Since these laro-e chests are of the sa1ne forms as the s1nallcr ones, they are here treated together.) o In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 26. 7.1438. From the Carnarvon Collection. It is inscribed with the name of the butler Kemy-ny, to whom it belonged, and of Amunemhet IV (1798-1790 n.c.) Cf. Hayes, Seepter,I, p. 245. 3. Metr. Mus. 16.1.1. From the Lahun Treasure. 2.

4. Metr. Mus. 36.3.56. From the tomb of Ramose and Hatnufer, the parents of Hatshepsut's steward, Senmut. c. 1500 n.c. 5. Cesnola Atlas, I, 504 ff.; Myres, Handbook of the CesnolaCollection,nos. 1662-1666, 2125-2126.

GREEK

74

FURNITURE

We learn fro111these representations that the type of chest current during the fifth century was the sa1ne as that in Egypt-a rectangular box, with panelled sides, a slightly projecting lid, and four feet fanned by the prolongation of the con1er posts. An innovation, however, is that the feet now often end in lion's paws. In the vase representations the chests are generally con1paratively plain, but they seld01n lack son1e attractive decorative 1notif. On a hydria in Boston 6 (fig. 384), sho,ving Danae and little Perseus sitting in an open chest, the only decoration is a pahnette on the front panel and a tongue on1an1ent on the lid. Similar chests appear on a stan111osin New York, 7 also with a representation of the Danae story, and on a kylix in Berlin 8 (fig. 385) with a man in the chest (king Thoas?). The lid on these chests is always flat, and occasionally the hinge on which it worked is indicated

FIFTH CENTURY

B.C.

(cf. fig. 385). On a nmnber of late archaic terracotta pinakes fr01n Locri, now in the National Museun1 of Reggio, elaborately decorated chests of similar type are represented. In addition to ornamental designs on the fra1nework, figured scenes are introduced on the panels. A well preserved example 9 shows a woman holding open the lid of a chest and taking out, or putting in, a folded gannent (fig. 386). The scene is a Greek interior; for on the walls hang a work-basket, a nurror, an oil-jug, and a drinking cup-the common paraphernalia of a Greek household. Most of the surface of the chest is decorated. Besides a continuous maeander on the legs and cross-planks, there are two figured scenes on the panels, rendered like n1etopes, and separated by a triglyph. The feet end in lion's paws. Another good example of such a large chest on a Locrian relief 10 is seen in fig. 67. Here a woman is seated in front of the chest and has opened a basket placed on top of it containing a child. An interesting feature are the consoles at the top, perhaps added 'for additional support of the lid' (Dinsmoor); cf. p. 8 r. The same form occurs on 111anyother Locrian reliefs for sn1aller chests; for instance on a fragment11 showing Persephone seated, holding a phiale in one hand and a chest of this type in the other (fig. 3 88). A specially fine example appears in a terracotta statuette fr01n Roserno Medma, in the Musemn of Reggio 12 (fig. 391 ), representing Persephone seated and holding a little chest in her right hand, in this case also furnished with consoles. In spite of the small scale the panels are decorated with figures. On still another representation, on a fragment of a Locrian relief, such a chest, also with consoles, is used by Persephone as a footstool. 13

6. 03.792. Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 166, no. 8; A.R.V. 2 p. 1076, no. 13. By the Danae Painter. 7. 17.230.37. Rogers Fw1d, 1917. Richter and Hall, no. 82, pl. 86; Beazley, A.R. V.1 p. 326, no. 1; A.R. V. 2 p. 498, no. I. By the Deepdeene Painter, c. 470-460 B.c. From Rome. 8. Inv. 2300. Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 268, no. 32; A.R.V. 2 p. 409, no. 43. By the Briseis Painter. From Chiusi.

9. Quagliati, A11s011ia, III, 1908, p. 215, fig. 63. Ht. 26 cm. IO. Orsi, Boll. d'Arte, III, 1909, figs. 39 f.; Quagliati, Ausonia, 111, 1908, fig. u4. 1 I. Zancani, Atti e Memorie, Soc. Magna Graecia, 1954, pls. v, v1; Quagliati, op. cit. pp. 143 f., fig. 4. 12. Not. d. Sc., 1913, Suppl., pp. 91 f., fig. 103; Richter, Coll. Latom11s,XXVIII, 1957, pl. LIX, fig. 2. 13. Cf. Richter, Klearchos(forthcoming).

CHESTS

AND

BOXES

Fro111the analogy of these representations, large and small, one can recogmze as chests the pieces of furniture that appear in a series of terracotta 1nodels fr0111Locrj,14 and which are now in various Musemns-in Naples (cf. fig. 389), Taranto, Munich, London, and Heidelberg. They arc shown laden with vases, s111allboxes, baskets, etc., acting evidently as convenient repositories perhaps of dedicatory offerings, or 1nercly of household utensils. For a theory that these containers on Locrian reliefs are not chests but wardrobes see pp. 80£ I may here, however, illustrate a wooden chest in the Louvre 15 (fig. 390), dating fr01n the XVIII dynasty, which in son1e respects rese111blesthe Locrian examples. That is, it rests on four high legs formed by the continuation of the comer posts, it opens at the top, and it has in addition panels on the sides, which in this case, however, serve as real openings, and so are adequately large, with fastenings indicated. The sa1ne general type of chest-rectangular, with flat lid, panelled sides, and resting on four feet formed by the prolongation of the comer posts-remained in use during the second half of the fifth century B.C. One sees it on the East pedin1ent of the Parthenon, 16 where two figures arc represented seated on such chests, rendered more comfortable by the folded draperies placed on them (fig. 387). The long hinge on which the lid worked is clearly visible at the back. The four low feet are plain and rectangular. As one should expect, the smaller chests used to contain jewellery and toilet articles repeat the forms of the larger ones. They constantly appear among household paraphernalia on the vasepaintings and on the reliefs. On the lid of a pyxis in the Agora Musemn, 17 for instance, a half-open chest forms the sole decoration (fig. 397). So also on a red-figured pyxis in Athens 18 with a decorated side and lid, and with a central knob on the lid serving as a handle (fig. 398). On a pyxis in the British Museum 19 a girl named Danae is carrying an open chest from which she is taking a necklace (fig. 395). And on a lekythos in the Louvre 20 (fig. 394) a girl is shown reading fr0111a scroll, an open chest beside her. The method for fastening lid to chest was the same as that in use before. A clear representation of the device 1nay be seen on a white lekythos in Boston 21 (fig. 392), where a wmnan is depicted carrying a chest of this type, furnished with two knobs, one on the chest, the other on the lid. On a plate in the National Museum, Athens, 22 where such a box is shown placed on a diphros, even the string for the fastening is indicated between the knobs. And this is the case 14. Quagliati, A11sonia,III, 1908, pp. 226 f., figs. 77, 78. Munich= no. 759; Br. Mus. = Greek and Roman Life2 , p. 41, fig. 31. 15. Inv. no. N2945. From a private collection. 16. Smith, Cat. 1, pp. ro8 ff.,no. 303 E, F; Brommer, Die Giebel des Parthenon, pl. 27, p. 51. If the two goddesses are indeed Demeter and Persephone, as has often been suggested, their sitting on chests is of course particularly appropriate, on account of their connection with the 'area mystica'. Though the latter has always been thought to be round, in Pausanias, x, 28, 3, KL{3wTolare mentioned as 'being wont to be made for Demeter', and a kibotos is rectangular. Cf. on this passage: Lenormant, in Daremberg and

17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22.

Saglio, Dictiomiaire, s.v. cista mystica, p. 1207, and Saglio, ibid. s.v. area, p. 362, note 2. Agora Museum, Athens, P 23897. Fotmd in a well of c. 400 n.c. or slightly later. National Museum, Athens, inv. 14797. E773. F.R., pl. 57, 1; Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 537, no. 41; A.R. V. 2 p. 805, no. 89. From Athens. By an 'unascribed follower ofDouris'. CA 2220. Beazley, A.R. V.1 p. 764, no. 22; A.R. V 2• p. II99, no. 25. By the K.li.igmannPainter. 13.201. Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 642, no. 131; A.R.V. 2 p. 997, no. 156. From Gela. 14792. Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 747, no. 96; A.R.V. 2 pp. II33, no. 197. By the Washing Painter. From Attica.

GREEK

FURNITURE

also on the box being carried by a wo111anon a hydria in New York by the Shuvalov Painter 23 (fig. 393). In several of these representations the knob or knobs arc placed on the side of the chest, which 1s turned to the spectator. In reality it would of course be on the front; but the artist has placed it on the side so that the spectator should not 111issthis feature. Useful infonnation regarding the construction of these chests is derived fr01n several bronze 1niniature examples in the round, in Berlin 24 (figs. 403, 404) and Athcns. 25 In addition to the knobs they show the working of the hinge at the back; one part of the hinge was fastened to the lid, the other to the inside of the back of the chest, and an additional bronze plate was added to hide the attachn1cnt. On the lid of one of the examples in Berlin are two goat's heads and the head of a bull in relief (fig. 404). Si1nilar little bronze chests have been found at Lusoi, 26 and in Mineo in Sicily (cf. drawing), 27 the latter dated in the third century B.C. It is 8·5 cm. long, 3·75 c111. high and 3 · 5 c111.deep. Of interest fron1 the structural point of view is also a s1nall wooden chest fron1 the Crimea in Berlin 28 ( fig. 402). It has a flat lid t sliding in grooves, and in front is a knob which pushes up against the lid-a novel -~~ device for fastening. There are no feet. -·-------·---- ::-",·~· -~---·

.....,_

--

-

--

On Bronze chest found at Mineo, Sicily. Athenian grave reliefs of the fourth century From: Not.d.Sc. 1909, p. 385. B.C. chests are of frequent occurrence. Generally they are sn1all and are being handed to a woman by her 111aid.But on a stcle in Berlin 29 (fig. 407) a large chest of this type appears placed under a diphros. It is of simple form, with panelled sides, and plain rectangular feet. On South Italian vases of the fourth century B.C., and later, chests of the sa1ne type that occur on the earlier Athenian continue to be popular. On an Apulian bell-krater in the Louvrc 30 (fig. 399) Helen is seen sitting on a rock (or son1e uneven ground) with such a chest in front of her. She has opened the lid and is looking at the diade1n inside it, presumably a gift from Paris, who stands watching her. Dated c. 380-370 B.C. FOURTH

CENTURY

B.C.

AND

LATER.

23. 41.162.87. From the Gallatin Collection. Rogers Fund, 1941. C. V.A. MMA. fasc. 2, pl. 24, 8; Beazley, A.R. V.1 p. 755, no. 47; A.R. V. 2 p. 12ro, no. 63. 24. Inv. 8375 (from Greece), 8064, 185 (from Boeotia). Length 5·5 cm. and 819 cm. Arch. Anz. 1893, p. 97, no. II (=8378). 25. Inv. 8000-8002. National Museum. 26. Reichel and Wilhelm, Oest.Jahr. IV, 1901, p. 84, fig.

153. Only part of the bronze sheathing, with adedicatory inscription (:4.ycWwv dvi£01JKE), is preserved. 27. Orsi, Not. d. Sc. 1909, p. 385, fig. 41; 3·75 cm. high. Probably third century B.C. 28. II863. 29. Conze, Att. Gr., pl. 35. 30. K 6. 'Early Apulian, plain style; c. 380-370

B.C.

(Trcndall). The man in the Phrygian cap should be Paris; and so the woman becomes Helen.

CHESTS

AND

BOXES

77 A larger chest is represented on an Apulian hydria in Naples 31 (fig. 396), placed on the floor, with a wo111an crouching before it, about to take smnething out of it. The front of the chest is shown, as well as the side, and on the fonner are correctly placed the two knobs for fastening (added in white colour). On the fa111ousPaestan krater by Asteas in Berlin 32 (fig. 401) an old 1nan is shown lying on his

treasure chest, while two thieves are trying to pull hi111off The fourth-century to1nb paintings frmn Kasanlik in Bulgaria,33 which have supplied us with interesting examples of thrones, footstools and tables, also depict chests. A wmnan is represented carrying two chests34-one with a flat lid and no feet, the other with a gabled lid.

Type2, withgabledorarchedlid.The second type of chest, with gabled or arched lid, is not frequently represented on the earlier Greek 1nonuments, but it becomes popular later. One 1neets it sometimes on late fifth- and fourth-century Athenian grave reliefs35 and on Kerch vases. On a fourthcentury lekane fron1 Kerch, for instance, in the Hermitage, 36 such a gabled chest is seen suspended from the wall (fig. 367 ). On its sides is a figured decoration. The type is particularly popular on South Italian vases, where wmnen are often represented carrying such caskets by a string attached to the two ends of the gable; cf. e.g. fig. 400 with such a representation on an Apulian askos in the British Museum, 37 dated c. 320 B.C. Two nliniature chests in terracotta with gabled lids are in the Louvre-one from Smyma38 (fig. 405), the other from Myrina 39 (fig. 406). Our knowledge of chests of the fourth century is supplemented in a welcome 1nanner by the wooden coffins in the forn1 of chests which have been found at Abousir in Egypt and South Russia, and are now in various Musemns 40-in Cairo, Leningrad, Berlin, Hanover, the Piraeus, and Bonn. Here one has for the first time a series of full-size specimens, which can teach us more, especially in details of construction, than painted representations or nuniature exa1nples. The prevailing form of these chest-coffins is sinillar to the chests described above, that is, they have a lid which is either flat or gabled. The gayness of their decoration, executed in wood, terracotta, and stucco, once in vivid colours, has added to their attraction. Though the colours have now 111ostlydisappeared, the traces they have left have made it possible in some cases to reconstruct the original designs. They give one a conception of the brilliance of Greek furniture. Figs. 408-410 show three of these coffms, now in Berlin, 41 Hanover, 42 and Leningrad, 43 on which traces of the original decoration are still visible. We learn frmn these chests that wooden pegs were used throughout, instead of metal fastenings. 3 r. Inv. 82418. Heydemann, no. 3244. 'Ornate Apulian. Darius group. Third quarter of the 4th century B.c.' (Trendall). 32. Inv. 3044. F.R. III, pl. 150; Trendall, Paesta11Pottery, pl. V, b. 33. Verdari, AJ.A. XLIX, 1945, pp. 402 ff, fig. IO. 34. Not included in my fig. 347. 35. Conze, pl. xxxvr, no. 70. 36. Co111pte-re11dus, St. Petersbourg, 1881, pl. III. 37. 1928.1-17.68. 'Late Ornate Apulian. Post-Darian; c. 320 n.c.' (Trend.all).

38. CA 776. Mollard, Cat. III. 39. Myr. 404. Mollard, Cat. II, pl. 186 f. 40. Watzinger, Die ._i;riechischen Holzsarkophage a11sder Zeit Alexanders des GrossCll(1905). 41. Watzinger, op. cit. no. 1, pp. 25 f., figs. 27-32. 42. In the Kestner Museum, Hanover, inv. 3597. Watzinger, op. cit. no. 4, pl. r. 43. Compte rend11, 1882, St. Petersbourg, pl. vr, 5; Watzinger, op. cit., p. 36, no. 12.

GREEK

FURNITURE

The dove-tail rncthod in use nowadays occurs occasionally. In the gabled chests one side of the gable served as a lid, and this was subsequently nailed down when the chest was made to serve as a coffin. The wooden coffins of the third century, which have been found in the san1e localities, have the fonn no longer of chests but of houses, and so play no part in a study of furniture. To be distinguished frmn the wooden and metal chests described above are of course the round wicker baskets ·which appear on son1e of the 1nonmnents and which have s01neti1nes been 1nistaken for chests when cursorily drawn. Their real character is clearly shown, for instance, on a fragn1ent of a Locrian relief 44

THE SHELF Objects of every day use that were not stowed away in chests are generally represented in vase-paintings as hanging upon the wall from pegs, hooks or nails (cf. figs. 616, 620 ). In our kitchens today a si1nilar custmn prevails, but to a less extent. In addition, however, the Greeks had shelves, as indicated by a few representations. One appears on a red-figured pelike by the Geras Painter in Berkeley, California, 1 where it is shown supporting a lidded crock (fig. 4n ). It consists of an upright member, with a horizontal plank below, which in reality of course projected into the roo111.As Mr. An1yx suggested in his publication of the vase, judging from the culinary preparations of the satyrs on the scene, the 1nilieu may have been intended for a kitchen. Another shelf appears on a kylix by the Wedding Painter in Compiegne 2 ; and still another is seen on a bell-krater in Chicago, 3 where it is depicted as supporting a pair of greaves; it is quite short and drawn in front view, whereas the other two are long and shown in profile to avoid the difficulty of foreshortening. What n1ay also be termed a shelf is seen in the shoe1naker' s shop depicted on a black-figured neck-amphora in Boston (fig. 362). It is there drawn from the side, and serves as a tool rack. It is n1ore clearly drawn in the shoe1naker' s shop on the black-figured pelike in Oxford, 4 where the various tools are distinguishable (fig. 412 ). Furthern1ore a shelf, properly drawn as projecting fron1 the wall and resting on two supports, appears in a wall-painting from Herculaneum, evidently a Rmnan copy of a Hellenistic original (fig. 420 ). Here Erotes act as shoe1nakers, and on the shelf are placed several shoes. What 1nay be tenned a set of shelves (resembling our open bookcases), that is, composed of uprights and several horizontals, occurs, rather cursorily drawn, on a Corinthian aryballos, at Colmnbia, Missouri, 5 dated c. 600 B.C. (cf drawing p. 79 ). On the shelves are vases and other objects. 44. Cf. Orsi, Boll. d'Arte, III, 1909, p. 425, fig. 23. Zancani (tipo 15). r. 8.4583. Amyx,AJ.A. xux, 1945, pp.508 ££,figs. 1,3; 2 Beazley, A.R. V. p. 286, no. 10. 2. 1090. C. V.A. Compicgne, pl. 17, 9; Amyx, op. cit. p. 513; Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 605, no. 1; A.R.V. 2 p. 922, no. r. From Vulci.

3. 22.2197. Webster, Der Niobidenmaler, p. 21, no. 15, c, pl. 19, a; Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 425, 9; A.R.V. 2 p. 610, no. 21. Manner of the Niobid Painter. From Capua. 4. Beazley, A.B. V. p. 396, no. 21. From Rhodes. 5. G. D. and S. S. Weinberg, Stttdies presented to Hetty Goldma11,pp. 262 ff., fig. 1, pl. xxxm.

THE

CUPBOARD

79

A 1nore carefully drawn example appears on the interior of a kylix in Ne,v York 6 by the Briseis Painter (fig. 413 ). On the shelves are s1nall lozenge-shaped objects, which were once interpreted as aryballoi. 7 But, as far as is kno,vn, the containers of aryballoi ·were of different fonn (cf. p. 72). At all events, the object in question seems to be a tall piece of furniture, 1nade of wood, for the grain is indicated. A somewhat si1nilar 'set of shelves' 1nay be seen on a fresco from Po1npeii 8 where Interior of a house, on a Corinthian aryballos Erotes are engaged in the preparation of oil at Columbia, Missouri. From Weinberg, (fig. 417 ). On the shelves are a series of Studies presentedto H. Gold111m1, p. 263. rounded objects. Furthermore, also from the Hellenistic period, c01ne so111erepresentations of 'sets of shelves', placed against the walls of funerary reliefs. 9 Figs. 414, 415 illustrate two exa1nples in the Archaeological Musemn in Istanbul. On the shelves are placed various objects, including a stemmed cup and conical-shaped articles. In fig. 415 may be seen above the shelves the head of a horse above a curtain attached to a nearby tree, round which a serpent is coiled-all objects of funerary import. There is no visible botto111 part on which the shelves are resting, as there would be in a sideboard (cf. p. 82, figs. 421, 423); so it see1ns best not to interpret the shelves as parts of kylikeia. (What n1ight seem to be the botto1n of the shelves in fig. 415 is really of course a leg of the 10 (fig. 416). Here couch.) A similar scene appears on a funerary relief from Teos, once in S111yn1a again objects are placed on two shelves, set against the wall, with apparently no bott01n indicated. At all events, whether shelves or buffets, they served for the convenient placing of provisions.

THE CUPBOARD·

WARD ROBE · CLOSET

What we call wardrobes or cupboards were apparently not used in Greece in archaic and classical ti1nes. In Olynthos, in Greek houses of the fifth- to fourth-century B.C. have been found traces of sn1all enclosures, that is, separate compart1nents, which may have served as built-in kitchen closets.I But they can hardly be ter111edcupboards. 6. 27.74. Richter and Hall, no. 51, pl. 47; Beazley, A.R.V. 1 p. 267, no. ro;A.R. V.2 p. 407, no. 18. 7. Pollak and Munoz, CollectionStroga11ojf, text to pls.

For a suggestion that the objects were 'tickets' for members of the chorus in a tragic play, stuck in an 'admission control', cf. Bieber, AJ.A. XLV, 1941, pp. 533 ff. 8. L. Curtius, WandmalereiPompejis,p. 146, fig. 90. XXXIX-XLI.

9. Inv. nos. ro30, 201; Mendel, interpreted as KvAtKEta).

Cat. nos. 975, 978 (there

ro. Pfuhl, J.d.I. xx, 1905, p. 123, fig. 20; Studniczka, Abh. d. siichs.Ges. d. Wiss. xxx, 2, 1914, p. 30, fig. 3 3.

There said to be in the Euaggclike schole in Smyrna, so presumably destroyed during the last war. r. D. M. Robinson and Graham, Olyntlms, VIII, 1938, The Hellenic House, pp. 197 £

So

GREEK

FURNITURE

The evidence, both inscriptional and archaeological, cited by E. G. Budde, in his Amwritmt tmd Ki{Jw-ros, ei11Beitragz11r Geschichtcdes mttiken Mobiliars (1941), for the existence of cupboards in early Greece seems to me not to bear out his contention. I have tried to show this in an article Latonws, xxvm, 1957, pp. 418 ff., but will entitled 'Were there Greek Armaria?', in Collectio11 here sununarize Budde' s and 1ny argun1ents. Budde proposed, as others had before him, that in the inscription of 415 B.C., which lists the fun1iture and other belongings of Alkibiades and his associates 2 confiscated by the state, the phrases Kt{Jw[-ros] 8t0v[pos ], Kt{Jw-ros TE-r[pa0vpos], Kt{Jw-ros 0vpt0WT~, since they cite double and quadruple doors, must refer to cupboards. Budde also claimed as evidence the inscription concerning Philon's arsenal at the Piraeus 3 (340-3 30 B.C. ), where the rigging and sails of ships were stored, interpreting P , , , ,, ,, T , ,, , , 'b 1L t he p hrase KL/-'w-rovs ... avoiyvvµ,Evas ... 01rws av 77iopav a1rav-ra -ra aKEVTJas oxes ert open on the front or on the side', and so referring to cupboards. In rebuttal I contended that the phrase two- or four-doored kibotoi need not refer to cupboards, for it could also mean chests with lids, divided into two or four sections; cf. Herodotos v, 16, who uses the word 0vpa for a horizontal opening in a platform (cf. Pritchett, Hesperia,xxv, 1956, pp. 221 ff.). Moreover, the word 0vpis occurs meaning a window (cf. the references given by Liddell and Scott). As a matter of fact, the large coffin chests from Egypt, dating fr01n the fourth century B.c., have one side of the gabled lid made as an opening. 4 The kibotoi in the Piraeus inscription are also, it would seem, best interpreted as chests open at the top or bottom-as also Foucard and Fabricius did, translating Kt{Jw-rol by 'Kasten' and 'coffres', not by 'Schranke', as did Dorpfeld and Budde. There seems, in fact, to be no Greek word for cupboard in the classical Greek period. The word armarium does not occur until Roman tin1es. The words 1rvpylaKos, 1rvpyiaKapiov which have sometimes been thought to designate a cupboard, also do not occur until the Roman period. In the Deli.an inventories there are 1nany different words used to designate containers, 5 but all seem to be boxes of son1e sort. As archaeological evidence Budde 6 cited the tall pieces of furniture ·which appear on a number ofLocrian pinakes (cf. figs. 67, 386), since they had what he thought were openings on the sides, as well as occasionally consoles. But a characteristic of a cupboard is that it has doors reaching more or less from top to bottom. Even if we supposed that the little panels on the Locrian reliefs were occasionally n1ade to be opened-as is the case in some Egyptian examples (cf. fig. 390 )this would not make a cupboard out of a chest. As a matter of fact, the panels in the fronts of the receptacles in the Locrian pinakes are so small that they would be inconvenient openings for placing, and especially for taking out, belongings. Furthern1ore, such panels also appear in exan1ples with lids held open at the top (cf. fig. 386), and they are, therefore, it would seem, best interpreted as being decorative features. Chests, as we have seen already, often had ornaments for e1nbellishment (cf. p. 77). ~

Pritchett, Hesperia,XXV, 1956, pp. 178 ff. 3. Dittenberger, Syll.3 nos. 969, 11.85-90; Foucard, B.C.H. VI, 1882, pp. 540 ff.; Fabricius, Hermes XVII, 1882, PP·55 ff.; Dorpfeld, Ath. Mitt. VIII, 1883, p. 147;

2.

Marstrand, Arsenalet Pirae11s,1922, pp. 25 ff.; J.C. II, 1054. figs. 33, 34. 4. Watzinger, GriechischeHolzsarkophage,p.26, 5. Deonna, Delos,XVIII, p. 235. 6. Cf. also Studniczka, op. cit. infra,pp. 164 f.

SIDEBOARDS

AND

8I

BUFFETS

Regarding the argument that the consoles introduced at the top of some of the Locrian receptacles suggest doors, one may refer to the terracotta statuette where a seated wo1nan is shown holding such a s1nall receptacle with consoles 7 (fig. 391). She is surely not holding a cupboard in her hand. In no instance, as far as I know, is a handle or lock or any other contrivance shovvi1 on these Locrian receptacles by which the alleged doors could be opened and closed. This applies also to the little ivory plaques, 4·8 cn1. high, fr0111Rosarno Med1na, 8 which Budde took to represent cupboards, but which n1ight be si1nply facings of a little chest. As is well known, the types adopted by the Greeks in archaic and classical ti1nes in architecture, sculpture, and pottery, were relatively few (cf. p. 3). This applies, as we have seen, also to furniture. There were constant variations in details, but the basic type remained the same. It therefore, seen1s unlikely that there should be isolated instances of cupboards on the fifth-century Locrian reliefs with no immediate antecedents or successors. In the category of chests these representations belong to a continuous series. In the Hellenistic period, however, when life became 1nore c01nplicated, possessions had accun1ulated, and libraries were formed, it seems likely that cupboards were introduced. 9 As a matter of fact, real cupboards, in our sense of the word, with doors opening all the way down in front, may be seen on several wall paintings from P01npeii and Herculaneum, which were presumably copied from Hellenistic Greek originals. Fig. 419 shows a fine one with a gabled top, voluted feet, and vvith half-open doors; inside, on a series of shelves, are displayed statuettes and vases. The painting was found in the House of the Vettii in P01npeii 10 A si1npler variety of cupboard appears on a wall-painting from Herculaneum 11 (fig. 420 ), where Erotes are shown acting as shoemakers. Here the cupboard has a flat top and double doors; inside are placed several pairs of shoes. Cf. also fig. 418. For Roman cupboards, cf. pp. rr5 f.

THE SIDEBOARD

· BUFFET

(dyyv0~KY), KVALKEfov?)

That there were also sideboards in Greek ti1nes is suggested by a few representations. There is first a terracotta, cited and illustrated in a drawing by Winter in his Typen,II, p. 292, fig. 9, where it is said to have been in the antiquity market in 1883 and to have come from Asia Minor (cf. drawing on p. 83; 15 c1n. high). Its present location is not known to me, nor to Mme Mallard, Mrs. Thompson, and Mr. Higgins, whom I consulted; but to judge fro1n the dra·wing, it seems to be genuine and of Hellenistic date. It may be described as consisting of two parts, (a) a rectangular table-like lower member, resting on four short legs with lion's paw feet, and with an openwork compartment below the leaf, decorated with columns; and (b)an upper member, set back and provided with shelving on which are displayed various vases and phialai. 7. Not. d. Sc. 1913, Suppl., p. 91, fig. 103. 8. Orsi, Not. d. Sc. Suppl., 1913, p. 137, fig. r8r. 9. Cf. Studniczka, Das Symposion Ptolemaios II, Abh. d. kgl. sachsische11 Gesellscliaftd. Wiss. xxx, 1915, PP· 162 ff.,where elaborate articles of furniture are referred to.

ro. Sogliano, Mon. Ant. vm, 1898, pp. 231-416; Budde, Ar111ari11m, p. 21, no. 21, fig. rr. rr. In the National Museum, Naples, inv. 9179. Ruesch, Guida, no. 1455; Elia, Pitture 11111rali, no. 223; Budde, op. cit. p. 22, no. 22, fig. 12.

82

GREEK

FURNITURE

A si1nilar object, with the san1e shelving in its upper part and colmnnar decoration in its lower, appears on several Hellenistic funerary reliefs from Samos 1 (cf. fig. 421). There too the object is laden with miscellaneous vases and serves as a 'Schenktisch', that is, a stand placed near by the couch for convenient use; in other words an Jyyv0~KYJ(cf. Athen. IV, 153, e, v, 210, b ). On another Hellenistic funerary relief, in the Louvre 2 (fig. 423 ), is shown an article of funuture also with legs ending in lion's paws and with an openwork c01npartment below decorated with colmnns, but without the upper 1ne1nber. Here too it serves as a 'Schenktisch'. Then there is the sardonyx kantharos, the so-called 'Coupe des Ptole1nees', in the Cabinet des Mcdailles,3 where is shown, on each of its sides, a rectangular table-like object, resting on four legs with lion's paw feet; here there is a shelf instead of the openwork compart1nent, and on leaf and shelf are piled up various vases, statuettes, etc.; there is no upper men1ber; at the back hangs a curtain (figs. 425, 426). Hellenistic style. There are furthermore the two silver cups from Berthouville in the Cabinet des Medailles, 4 on each of which is represented a rectangular table-like object stacked with vases (figs. 422, 424). The bott01n here appears to be solid and decorated with reliefs of Satyrs and a Maenad. Again there is no upper n1e111ber.Hellenistic style. Son1e authorities have also cited in this connection the object represented on the late archaic Etruscan wall-painting from the To1nba della Querciola at Tarquinia (cf. drawing on p. 94), on which kylikes and various other vases are stacked. Here the table is of the regular form, but it has a shelf, which, as we saw, occasionally occurs (cf. p. 67). Also in this connection have been cited the articles of furniture represented on some Locrian reliefs, and on which sometimes various objects are placed (cf. fig. 389). These, however, I take to be large chests, since they have lids that open on hinges and are used for the storing of garments (cf. pp. So f.). Studniczka, in his article on the Syn1posion of Ptolemy II,5 suggested that the buffets represented on the Winter terracotta and the Samian relief (as well as the objects shown in the Etruscan painting and on the Locrian reliefs) were the KvALKE'iamentioned by ancient authors. And his suggestion has been favourably received. The term kylikeion certainly i1nplies an article of furniture on which kylikes could be placed. That in the representations above enumerated all sorts of other objects besides kylikes are displayed is of course not against the identification. It might be well, however, briefly to review the question here and suggest some 111odificationsto the current theory. Let us first examine the literary evidence, and see what light it sheds on the proble1n. 6 The term kylikeion, as is well known, occurs in Athenaios' Deipnosophistai,XI, 460, c, where he Studniczka, Abhandl. d. siichs. Ges. d. Wiss. xxx, 2, 1914, pp. 1651, fig. 50; Wiegand, Atli. Mitt. xxv, 1900, pp. 178 ff. (there called 'Schenktische'). 2. Clarac, M11see,II, pl. 156, no. 340; Cataloguesommaire (1896), no. 208; Cart, La Vie privee en Greceet aRome (1959), p. 35, no. 25, pl. m. 3. Chabouillet, Cat. no. 279; Furtwangler, A.G. m, p. 156, figs. 108, 109. 1.

4. Chabouillet, Cat. nos. 2807, 2808; E. Babelon, Le TresordeBerthouville,pl. IX, A, pl. x, B. 5. Cf. op. cit. 6. Cf. on this subject also M. J. Milne, in Richter, C. V.A. Metr. Mus., fasc. 2, Attic Black-figured Kylikes, p. XIV, note I.

SIDEBOARDS

AND

BUFFETS

speaks of the various Greek drinking cups. The passage runs as follows: ... Twv TTOTYJptwv, '!' / ) \ wv 7T"- YJPES EaTL To\ KVI\LKE wv TOoL-E tpY)TaL yap A

t

t/

_

~/

,

,

>f

\

,

'A

OVTWS TJTWV 7TOTYJPLWV GKEVO0YJKYJTrap npwJ..' , TO'f'avEL µEv

,

Ev

r Ewpyois·- waTTEP ,, KVI\LKE'i:ov '

'drinking cups, of which the kylikeion here is full; for this is the nan1e given by Aristophanes in his Georgoito the "utensil-receptacle" (aKrno017KYJ)in which cups are kept, "covered like a kylikeion in front of which the linen curtain is drawn".' Then (x1, 460, e) Athenaios proceeds to cite other authors who n1ention kylikeia, namely: Anaxandrides (first half of the fourth century B.C. ), in his Melilotos (Kock, ComiII, p. 145, no. 29); comm Atticorttm Fragme11ta, Euboulos, in his Leda, Harpgirl, and Semele or Dionysos (Kock n, p. 185, no. 62; p. 197, no. 96; p. 206, no. 118), where occurs the phrase: 'Hermes, Maia's son, as he stands in the kylikeion.' (We have seen that statuettes sometimes appear on our buffets along with Terracotta buffet. From:Winter, Typen der.figiirlic/1en the vases; cf. figs. 425, 426). Also Kratinos Terrakotten,ii, p. 292. the Younger (middle of the fourth century B.c.), in his Cheiron, fr. 9 (Kock II, p. 29). In Athen. XI, 480b, the kylikeion is defined as 'the place where the cups are kept, if they happen > 'F' '0 > \ t o be o f silver,' KVI\LKELOV, EV

EV

,,

I

,r

I I \ > \ ~ r - TPLY)µtTats- yaaTpats KVKl\

i.twv; cf. Lucian, adv. indoctun1, 5. There were also '111askcupboards'. They appear in the mediaeval 1nanuscripts of Terence's writings that supposedly go back to originals of the third or fourth century A.D. 7 We see here receptacles without doors, flanked by columns, with pedi1nent-like tops, inside which masks are ranged on shelves. They 1nay be called some kind of cupboard, or open shelving. Here too may be 111entioned another manuscript, in the Vatican, with an illustration of Dido on a couch (fig. 555). In the left comer is seen a cupboard, without doors, but instead with a curtain; similar, in fact, to some of the contrivances in use today.

THE SIDEBOARD

(abacus)

In addition to the regular table forn1s, and to the cupboards, the Romans seem to have had sideboards, known as abaci. It was indeed natural that such a piece of furniture should be neededas it had been in Hellenistic Greece-to display the many ornaments highly prized by the Ro1nans; cf. Cicero, In Verrem,n, lv, 16, §35: ab hoe abaci vasa omnia, ut exposita fuerunt, abstulit. According to Livy 39, 6, 7, and Pliny, XXXVI, viii, 14, abaci were first brought to Rome by Cn. Manlius during the trimnph he celebrated after his conquest of Asia ( in 187 B.c.). Though these abaci are often referred to in Latin literature, their appearance is not specifically described. Occasionally, however, articles of furniture, laden with vases and other objects, and not dissimilar fron1 the Hellenistic sideboards shown in my figs. 421, 423, appear on Roman monuments. For instance, on the sarcophagus fr01n Simpelveld (fig. 586) there is represented an object with a table-like lower n1ember and an upper member with shelving laden with vases and boxes. This must be an abacus.

6. Garrucci, Storia d' arte cristiana, Pitt. pl. cxxvr, I;

Matz-Duhn, n, p. 346, no. 3127a; Petersen, Rom. Mitt. xv, 1900, pp. 171 f£ (with bibliography); R. Calza and Nash, Ostia, fig. III; Kaibel, J.C. xrv, no. 943. Formerly in various private collections (e.g. Balestra, Pince del Drago, W. R. Hearst). After many vicissitudes (it was once used as a receptacle for water in the courtyard of a house), it passed to the Metro-

politan Museum of Art in 1948, as a gift of Ernest and Beata Brummer, in memory of Joseph Brummer. Acc. no. 48.76.1. 7. Bieber, Theaterwesen,1920, p. 171, fig. 137; Omont, Comediesde Terence,Bibi. Nat., Dep. d. Man. 7, 1907, fol. 2; Robert, Die Masken der neuen Komodie, 25. Hall. Winckelmannspr.I9II, figs. rn7, rn8; Budde, op. cit. p. 32, nos. 1-5, figs, 19-23.

FURNISHINGS Upholstery in our sense of the word-that is, the stuffing of chairs etc. with soft materials, such as hair, wool, wadding, and the covering of the stuffed parts ·with fabric tacked to the wooden frame-is a late invention 1 and was not practised in the Graeco-R0111an world. Instead, loose covers, hangings (large and small), and pillows were used, which consequently becan1e necessary and in1portant adjuncts of furniture. Being of perishable 111aterial,they have practically all disappeared. Only a few frag111entsfr0111the Cri1nea, Mongolia, and elsewhere have accidentally survived to our tin1e.2 One must, therefore, derive one's information from the references to these furnishings by ancient authors, from their 1nention in inscriptions, and, above all, fron1 the frequent representations of then1 on Greek vases and other 1nonumcnts. Through thc1n we can to sonic extent visualize the shapes and the decorations of these furnishings, but alas! not the colours that must have added so much to their attraction. The list of epithets given by Pollux (x, 42) to bed covers 111akesone realize the splendour that these adjuncts n1ust have in1parted to the home: Delicate (AE1r-r~), well woven (dvcp~s), woven with fine thread (d~-rpws), glistening (anA7TV~), shining (a-rt>.{Jovaa ), beautifully coloured (Evxpws), manifold (1r0Avµ,opcpos ), purple (1ropcpvpa), sea-green (a>.ovpyas), sea-purple (aAl1Topcpvpos ), green (1rpaaELOS ), scarlet (vayivo{Jacp~s)violet (loELD~s ), saffron-coloured (KpoKoELD~s ), decorated with scarlet flowers (KoKKwav0ovaa ), scarlet (KoKKo{Jacp~s ), brownish (opcpvtvYJ ), with a purple border (1rEpL1Topcpvpos ), shot with gold (l.1rtxpvaos), with figures of animals (0YJptal.vEyEypa1r-ro ), with stars gleaming on the1n (aa-rpal.v~a-rpa1r-ro ). As we look at the representations of covers on the Greek vases we must impart to the1n such epithets. The chief materials used were wool and linen, and, a little later, silk; also leather, sheepskin, etc. The fabrics were made in the h0111e,and constituted one of the chief occupations of w01nen both in early and in later tin1es. One may recall the passages in the Iliad (rr1,125 ff.) when Helen is described as weaving 111anybattles of the horse-taming Trojans and the brazen-coated Achaeans on a purple web of double fold:~ DEµ,Eyav Za-rovvcpaivE,8t1rAaKa1ropcpvpEYJV, 1roAEas8' l.vE1raaaEv aE0AovsTpwwv 0' l1T1TODaµ,wv Kal .:AxaiwvxaAKOXLTWVwv; and Andr0111acheas weaving a pattern of flowers of varied hues (xxn, 441). But there were also men-weavers. One hears, for instance, of Helikon and Akesas of Cypn1s (fourth to third century B.C.) being celebrated weavers (c£ Athenaios, rr, 48b); and in Delphi was an inscription 'made by Helikon ofSala1nis (in Cyprus), son of Akesas, upon whose handiwork the queenly Pallas breathed ineffable charm'. 3

1.

2.

So I am informed by the authorities of the British Museum. Cf. R. Edwards and M. Gaurdain, Dictionary of Furniture. On such textiles, cf. Bliinmer, Teclm. 11. Teri/I.I, pp. 89 ff.; Stephani, Compt. rend., co111111. i111p. arch., 187879, pp. 120 ff., pls. m-v (on the textiles fow1d in the Crimea); Minns, Scythians a11dGreeks, pp. 335 ff.; Schaeffer, 'Hellenistic Textiles in Northern Mongolia', AJ.A. XLVII, 1943, pp. 266 ff.; Beckwith, Illustrated II7

Lo11do11 News, 1954, pp. II4 f. (on the textile from Koropi). For small fragments of textiles found in Roman Britain, cf. Liversidge, Furniture in Roman Britai11,pp. 54 f.; and for a piece of leather found in 1954 on the site of the temple of Mithras in London, cf. her p. 10. A fragment of textile found in a bronze jar at Eleusis is in the Eleusis Museum. 3. For references, cf. Ransom, Couches,pp. 109 ff

II8

FURNISHINGS

The designs were woven into the n1aterial, or e1nbroidered on it, or pamted. The frag1nents of textiles found in the Crimea and elsewhere show all three techniques. A piece found in Koropi, Attica, and now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. (fig. 589), is of linen and is en1broidered in silver-gilt with a diaper pattern and a walking lion in the centre of each unit. Pieces fro111the Crimea, and now in Leningrad, are woven and have a variety of patterns, such as scrolls (figs. 590, 592), geom.etric designs (fig. 591), and mythological scenes. They have been assigned to the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Recently discovered fragments at Gordian in Phrygia show various ge01netric designs. The Greek and Latin names of these furnishings have been deduced fr0111the 1nention of them by ancient authors and in inscriptions. The lexicographers Hesychios, Suidas, and Pollux have supplied specially useful inforn1ation. Very valuable has also been the inscription listing the furniture and furnishings belonging to Alkibiades and his associates.4 From these sources the following chief terms have been recognized: culcita, torus. Mattress: TVA'YJ, KVE