Bell krater with scene of Marsyas, Apollo, and the Muses

A remarkable Attic red-figure bell krater, made in Athens around 430–420 BC and attributed to the Pothos Painter. The main side illustrates the musical contest between Apollo and the satyr Marsyas. At the centre, Marsyas sits naked on a rocky outcrop, with an animal tail and ears, a beard and a crown of leaves, holding the aulos, or double flute. Before him stands Apollo, crowned with laurel and holding a laurel branch, his cloak falling from the left shoulder and revealing an athletic torso. The god is accompanied by three Muses in peploi: one seated on the right with a chest at her feet, and two standing at the opposite end, holding a lyre and a box. Fine white highlights enrich the details. A laurel wreath encircles the rim, and the scene rests on a band of meanders alternating with chequered squares. The reverse shows three male figures in mantles. The krater was the vessel in which wine was mixed with water at the symposium, before being served to the guests. The bell-shaped krater, with its short arched handles, is one of the classic forms of Athenian pottery. The vase is in excellent condition: the body is intact and one handle has been restored from its original fragments, preserving the original paint, with only the cracks filled. A thermoluminescence test accompanies the piece.