Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 99. (Budapest, 2003)
DÁGI, MARIANNA: 'Tinkers' and 'Patchers': Some Notes on the Ancient Repairs of Greek Vases
amphora 48 ), but we find bowls, kalathoi, and other types (brazier, mortarium). I have no information on the repair of ritual vessels such as lekythoi or lutrophoroi. 49 Most usually the types of tableware - cups, amphorae, kraters and oinochoe - were repaired, and the kylikes/cups outnumber the others, for these did hard duty at any symposium and the risk of damage was accordingly higher. 50 These statements are valid only for the 6 th and 5 th centuries, the acme of Attic pottery. Scholars usually only pose the question concerning the use of vases after repair. 51 The archaeological context and technical details can give some aids to answer this question. In the case of repaired vessels found in dwellings, the context can show the continuous use of them, 52 but others found in sanctuaries or graves reveal little information to their use after repairing. 53 If the pot is repaired with the use of a sherd belonging to another pot, the choice and the attachment of the alien fragment can be informative. 54 Another widely held opinion is that the aesthetic and practical values of the particular vase motivated the repair, 53 but some examples seem to contradict this. It is excellently illustrated on two handmade Neolithic pots with sunk holes for repair from Corinth. 56 Finds from the so-called Martini-Marescotti tomb present 48 Repaired Panathenaic amphorae from house: Olynthus, House of Dionysius, inv. no. 34.267; Robinson 1950, 59-63, no. 11, figs. 14-16; from graves: Cerveteri, two pieces dated to 336/35 BC, both in the British Museum, inv. nos. London B 607 and B 608; Beazley ABV 415, 417; Bentz, M., Panathenäische Preisamphoren. Eine athenische Vasengattung und ihre Funktion vom 6-4. Jahrhundert v. Chr., Basel 1998, 176, nos. 4.086 and 4.087. This kind of amphora was originally used as a package of the prize won at the Athenian Panathenaic Games. Out of Athens the vases or their contents cold become export goods so these vases could undergo mending as well. On the Panathenaic amphorae with graffito, see Vos, op.cit. (n. 2) 35-38; on the distribution of the Panathenaic amphorae in general, see Frei, J., Panathenäische Preisamphoren, Athens 1973, 6-8; Arafat, K. - Morgan, C, OJA 8 (1989) 326-327; on their secondary use, see Bentz, op.cit. 89-119. 49 Based on the examination of about 120 repaired gathered-up exhibited pieces of material of different museums and collections and published vases. 50 According to general opinion the damage rate of this pottery was high because of the kottabos play (Williams, D., RA [1996J 251). 51 Elston 1990, 68; Pfisterer-Haas 2002, 56; Boardman op.cit. (n. 28) 161. 52 E.g., from a house in Olynthus a brazier repaired with lead staples came to light (Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, inv. no. 38.382, first half of the 4 th century: see Robinson 1950, 411-412, no. 1023, fig. 247), and a red-figure krater (Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, inv. no. 38.40, first half of the 4 th century: see Robinson 1950, 88, pi. 41, no. 34). 53 On the question of repaired vases found in sanctuaries, see Johnstone 1989-90, 315-316. 54 The most obvious example is the aforementioned amphora by the Bareiss Painter (n. 12). In this case the thickness of an alien fragment used for completion was filed to that of the original part within the vase. From an aesthetic point of view this alignment was not necessary at all, but practically speaking it was: an edge on the inside of the neck could have disturbed the pouring of the liquid. 55 Richter, G, Attic Red-Figured Vases, New Haven - London 1967, 35; Connor, op.cit. (n. 35) 368. 56 Corinthian Museum, without inv. no. A hemispherical bowl without decoration and a knobbed vessel are displayed in the first case of the first room of the exhibition.
