A simple reserved line marks off the tondo, which is decorated with the figure of a victorious athlete. His legs are slightly bent, his arms outstretched, and the stick he holds in his right hand evokes the spokes of a wheel. Long red ribbons with floating ends adorn the athlete’s hair and are attached to his arms by fine cords. In his right hand he holds his stick, to which are fastened a sponge and an aryballos—the athlete’s typical equipment. With his outstretched left hand, he attempts to catch a few leafy twigs thrown to him by the spectators in honor of his victory. This custom is called phyllobolia, as we learn from a passage of Eratosthenes (FGrHist II B, 3 [Leiden, 1929], no. 241, 1015s., fr. 14). Other objects could also be thrown, such as petasoi, chitoniskoi, and krepides.
The inscriptions reveal that the young man is twice praised for his bravery, as kalos (“beautiful” or “noble”). The painter has written these words in red letters against the black background of the tondo. The letters K and A are still legible behind the figure, in the field between the ends of the ribbon, on either side of the KAΛ beginning in front of the figure’s forehead, then following the circular border almost parallel to it: the A above the forearm, the Λ between the sponge of the aryballos and the twig. Graffito on the underside of the foot.
Note
The Carpenter Painter was an Athenian red-figure vase painter active in the late 6th century BC. His real name is unknown; the conventional name “Carpenter Painter” derives from a cup in the British Museum (London, BM E23; BAPD 201642), found in Chiusi, which depicts a carpenter at work in its interior. The artist worked primarily as a cup painter, though a hydria has also been attributed to him. Only a small number of vases are securely associated with his hand. His work is identified through distinctive stylistic details, including the rendering of clavicles, pectoral muscles, nipples, long slender hands, garment folds, and the characteristic downturn at the corners of the mouth. The Carpenter Painter was familiar with the innovations of the so-called Pioneers of red-figure painting and was particularly influenced by Euthymides. His subjects include komasts (revelers), symposion scenes, youths, Herakles, satyrs, and hunting scenes.
