Tátrai Vilmos szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 83. (Budapest, 1995)
JOHNSTON, ALAN: Graffiti and dipinti on Greek and Italic Vases of the Department of Classical Antiquities
some way accompanied the hydria. 5 The number of vases in such batches is normally included as well, but here, as in some other cases, does not appear. The earlier RF vase, 15, belongs with a large, and chronologically wide group of pieces, both BF and RF, with NV as the basis of the graffito (TM type 9F). The abbreviation has all the characteristics of being of a common noun or adjective (e.g. it is found over too long a period to refer to a single person and is often associated with numerals); yet an explanation is still elusive; AE most probably is the abbreviation of a vase-name, either lekanis, lekane, or lekythos (with non-Ionic alphabet, E = long vowel). Two other pots by the Chicago painter, a hydria from Campania (New York 06.1021.190) and a stamnos (Oxford 1929.779), have the same mark. The single line on 13 may be a version of a common and again chronologically extended mark (TM type 18C), used, I would argue, to denote that a pot had been reserved for a customer at Athens. Of the other fourth century RF vases with marks, 14 could be interpreted as a beta or as two juxtaposed deltas, indicating "twenty"; while such numerical marks, indicating normally the size of batch, are frequent enough at the period, a batch of twenty kraters would be large, especially at this period (there are higher figures for smaller pots, but not for such larger pieces; see TM 50 and Gill, OJA 6, 1987, 121-125) and the manner of inscribing does not encourage me to take it as a pair of deltas. 17 bears a mark that is of far too widespread occurence for very meaningful comment; it is probably a ligature of AN; it is not found on any contemporary RF vases, where indeed marks, apart from those of type 18C, are both sporadic and disparate (the list in TM 65, n. 19 is no longer complete, but the few additions in no way alter the general picture presented there). The black-glazed pots all bear single signs save 20, which has what is probably a Greek owner's mark, as is the case with the great majority of marks on drinking vessels. The mark on 21 looks remarkably like the benchmark of the British Ordnance survey; I know of no parallels for the intriguing shape. No meaningful comment can be made on the remaining trio, 18, 19, 22. ALAN JOHNSTON University College, London 5 The mark on a hydria by the Phiale paintrer (ARV 1020, 90; H. Froning, Katalog der griechischen und italischen Vasen. Museum Folkwang, Essen 1982, no. 78) is perhaps close, but Froning condemns it as modern, 1 cannot fully assess that judgement, but I certainly note the pont.
