A Basket Case Study Attic Basketry From PDF

College of Humanities and Social Science
Graduate School of History, Classics and

Archaeology Masters Programme Dissertation

A Basket Case Study: Attic Basketry from

Iconography to Production

Name: Jessica L. Pettitt
UUN: S1563486
Date of Submission: 12 August 2016
Programme: Classical Art and Archaeology
Supervisor: Proffessor Judith M. Barringer

Table of Contents
Image List ..................................................................................................................... 3
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 5
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 6
Chapter I: Previous Research ..................................................................................... 9
Chapter II: Literary Evidence .................................................................................. 11
Chapter III: Iconography ......................................................................................... 24
Chapter IV: A Word on Ubiquity ............................................................................ 35
Chapter V: Production .............................................................................................. 36
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 46
Appendix 1: Iconography .......................................................................................... 48
Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 86

Image List
Figure 1: White ground Lekythos, Plate XXII from Murray, A.S. & A. H. Smith,
1896. White Athenian Vases in the British Museum. London.
Figure 2: Red-figure amphora, Cambridge, Harvard University, Arthur M. Sackler

Museum: 1972.45, BAPD: 207394
Figure 3: White ground Lekythos, Sabouroff Painter, Toronto, Royal Ontario

Museum: 929.22.7. In: Kurtz, D.C., 1975. Athenian White Lekythoi Patterns
and Painters. Oxford. Pg. 29.
Figure 4: White ground Lekythos, Tamokrates Painter, Madison, WI, Elvehjem Art
Centre: EAC 70.2. In: Kurts, D.C., 1975. Athenian White Lekythoi Patterns
and Painters. Oxford. Pg. 34.
Figure 5: Red-figure kylix, Colmar Painter, Plate 36 in Richter, G., 1936. Red-
Figured Athenian Vases in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New Haven.
Figure 6: Red-figure cup, Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig: BS440,

BAPD: 203338
Figure 7: Red-figure cup, Paris, Musée du Louvre: G133. In: Villanueva-Puig, M.,
1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en Grèce dans L’antiquité. Paris. Pg. 64.
Figure 8: Red-figure pelike, Berlin, Antikensammlung: F2171. BAPD: 206706
Figure 9: Red-figure lebes, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum: P1906.175 in:
Cohen, B., 2014. ‘Baskets, Nets, Cages Indicia of Spatial Illusionism in
Athenian Vase Painting’. In J .Oakley (ed) Athenian Potters and Painters III.
Oxford. Pg. 36.
Figure 10: Red-figure Lekythos, Paris, Musée du Louvre: CA 2567. In: Villanueva-
Puig, M., 1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en Grèce dans L’antiquité.
Paris. Pg. 115.
Figure 11: Red-figure stamnos, Paris, Musée du Louvre: G407. In: Villanueve-Puig,
M., 1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en Grèce dans L’antiquité. Paris. Pg.
138.
Figure 12: Red-figure psykter, Malibu, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection,
Gift of Herbert L. Lucas: 83.AE.285. In: Cohen, B., 2014. ‘Baskets, Nets,
Cages Indicia of Spatial Illusionism in Athenian Vase Painting’. In J .Oakley
(ed) Athenian Potters and Painters III. Oxford. Pg. 33.
Figure 13: Fig. 13 Red-figure askos, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford:

AN1979.20, In: Cohen, B., 2014. ‘Baskets, Nets, Cages Indicia of Spatial
Illusionism in Athenian Vase Painting’. In J .Oakley (ed) Athenian Potters and
Painters III. Oxford. Pg. 32.

Figure 14: Red-figure cup tondo, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, H.L. Pierce Fund:
01.8024. In: Villanueva-Puig, M., 1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en
Grèce dans L’antiquité. Paris. Pg. 75.
Figure 15: Red-figure pelike sides A & B, Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum,

Antikensammlung: IV 3727. In: Villanueva-Puig, M., 1992. Images de la Vie
Quotidienne en Grèce dans L’antiquité. Paris. Pgs. 75, 82.
Figure 16: Red-figure column krater, Orchard Painter, Plate 87 In: Richter, G., 1936.
Red-Figured Athenian Vases in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New Haven.
Figure 17: Red-figure cup, Compiègne, Musée Vivenel: 1090. In: Villanueva-Puig,
M., 1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en Grèce dans L’antiquité. Paris. Pg
94.
Figure 18: Black-figure amphora type B, Basel, Antikenmuseum, Basel und

Sammlung Ludwig: Kä 420. In: Cohen, B., 2014. ‘Baskets, Nets, Cages
Indicia of Spatial Illusionism in Athenian Vase Painting’. In J.Oakley
(ed) Athenian Potters and Painters III. Oxford. Pg. 31 and Plate 2B.
Figure 19: Black-figure Lekythos. Syracuse, Museo Arch. Regionale

Paolo Orsi: 2287. BAPD 46922
Figure 20: Red-figure lebes fragment, Paris, Musée du Louvre: CA 1679. In:
Villanueva-Puig, M., 1992. Images de la Vie Quotidienne en Grèce dans
L’antiquité. Paris. Pg. 128.
Figure 21: Modern Sardinian fish traps. In: Bichard, M., 2008, Baskets in Europe.
Abingdon. Pg. 232. Photograph by author.
Figure 22: Modern maunds from Corinth, 2001. In: Bichard, M., 2008, Baskets in
Europe. Abingdon. Pg. 232. Photograph by author.
Figure 23: Arm basket, In: Bichard, M., 2008, Baskets in Europe. Abingdon. Pg. 234.
Photograph by: Museum Falteitz, Skryos and HOMMEH.
Figure 24: Donkey paniers, In: Novellino, D. & Z. Fusun Ertug, 2006. “Baskets of the
World” the Social Significance of Plaited Crafts, Proceedings of the IVth
International Congress of Ethnobotany. Istanbul. Pg. 663.
Figure 25: Bronze donkey carrying paniers, Roman, British Museum, inv.
1868,0520.50. Photo is my own.

Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to Professor Judith M. Barringer for her supervision and feedback
and to Professor David J. Schenker and Dr. David M. Lewis for their help in
navigating the literary sources and for checking my translations. I could not have
done this without their help. I am also very grateful to both The British School at
Athens and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the use of their
incredible libraries.
Abbreviations
BAPD= Beazley Archive Pottery Database

K-A= R. Kassel & C. Austin, Poetae Comici Graeci
LCL= Loeb Classical Library
LSJ= Liddell Scott Jones Greek-English Dictionary, 9th Edition
TLG= Thesaurus Linguae Grecae

A Basket Case Study: Attic Basketry from Iconography to
Production
Introduction
Artisans and craftsmen are once more the topic of increased attention by
historians and archaeologists alike.1 Within this area of interest both literary and
archaeological approaches to artisans in classical Athens prove valuable. The literary
approach is best illustrated in E.M. Harris’ important 2002 study, which collects some
170 occupation terms, many of them artisans2, but basket-makers do not feature
among his list. On the other hand, the archaeological approach comprises two strands:
first, the physical remains of workshops, and secondly, iconographic studies of
production. An inventory of excavated workshops in Attica and the Peloponnese has
been laboriously compiled by G.M. Sanidas3; but these are overwhelmingly
comprised of either (i) foundries or (ii) potteries – as basket weaving would usually
leave no trace in the archaeological record in the manner that forms of production
involving kilns and forges would. Baskets were made of organic material and
therefore very little evidence of these products survive.4 However, occasionally,
wickerwork is preserved indirectly, for example as an imprint in clay, which can
reflect the original material in form. 5 In addition to this indirect evidence, useful

1
Blondé & Muller (1998); Pipili (2000); Harris (2002); Tsakirgis (2005); Sobak (2009); Jockey
(2009); Lewis (2010); Hasaki (2012); Sanidas (2013); Gills (2014); Hochsheid (2015); Flohr
&Wilson (2016); Ruffing (2016).
2
Harris (2002).
3
Sanidas (2013).
4
Trinkl (2014), 193. For exceptions see Belogianno (2006), 290-5 for baskets found at Akrotiri;
and just as with papyrus documents, the Egyptian climate seems to be far more conducive than
that of Greece to the preservation of baskets; see Wills & Hacke (2010).
5
Unruh (2007); Betancourt (1990), 73-7; Lebegyev (2010), 101-03. For an archaeological
example see the impression left by a carrying net on an Attic red-figure alabastron: BAPD
207244.
6

information can be gained through the iconographic depictions of baskets on Attic
vases.
That brings us to the issue of depictions of artisans on these vases. It is worth
noting that the large majority of scenes of craftsmen and artisans depicted on vases
deal with scenes of production—metallurgy, ceramic workers, sculptors, carpenters,
etc.—but no image represents the production of baskets, and therefore basketry is left
out of the study on the iconography of artisans by Ziomecki, as well as in the more
recent studies by Vidale and Chatzidimitriou.6 We know baskets were produced and
utilized for a number of various functions due to their ubiquity in both vase
iconography and literary sources, but the production and sale of these versatile
containers remains a neglected facet of the Attic artisan economy. Whilst numerous
studies have been devoted to other containers such as pottery7, there is relatively little
work on basketry. This study, then, is intended as a contribution toward filling this
void.
To do so, this dissertation undertakes a thorough study of the literary sources
and the iconographic evidence collected from painted pottery that relates to Attic
basketry. Given restrictions of space, I have not expanded my study to the genres of
stone relief or epigraphy; though important, these are less promising genres than those
that I have chosen to focus upon. A truly comprehensive study, though, would require
a thorough study of these genres as well. First, this dissertation aims to establish the
ubiquity of baskets in classical Athenian life, and particularly the oikos, thereby
giving a rough sense of the level of demand for baskets and therefore indicating
whether or not basketry was a marginal craft or was rather a commonplace form of

6
J. Ziomecki (1975); M. Vidale (2002); A. Chatzidimitriou (2005). See also S. Lewis (2010);
Pipili (2000).
7
See for example the bibliography provided with the Beazley Archive online:
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/tools/bibliographies/pottery/shapes.htm'
7

production. For the iconographic sources, I have conducted a thorough search of the
Beazley archive and compiled a list of vases in which baskets appear, noting their
shape and use. For the literary sources, I have used a reverse English to Greek search
function to compile a full list of Greek terms relating to baskets, and then input each
of these into Thesaurus Lingua Graecae to gather a complete list of references from
classical Attic texts. Each of these references has been examined in context, noting
the function of the baskets mentioned. From there, I investigate the issue of
production, for which we have significantly less evidence. There is a term for basket-
weaver, oisourgos, but it is found only once in classical Attic literature (Eupolis fr.
192 K-A); to this, references to the materials from which baskets were woven in
Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum may be added.8 However, more is known about
adjacent crafts, such as garland weaving, that can provide clues about how basketry
may have been produced in Athens. Lastly, I will consider ethnographic parallels to
investigate the techniques and effort required to produce the sort of baskets which
would have existed in classical Attica. Hopefully, the results of this research will
provide a detailed view of the range of uses and forms of baskets in everyday life in
Athens and add a new facet to the diverse catalogue of craft occupations in classical
Attica.
The structure of the dissertation is as follows. Chapter 1 constitutes a literature
review and sketches the present state of scholarship on ancient Greek basketry.
Chapter 2 sets out the evidence of Athenian textual sources to study the forms and
uses of baskets documented in everyday Athenian life. This is fine-tuned in chapter 3,
which adds the iconographic evidence from painted pottery in order to investigate the
morphology of Athenian basketry and its representation in Athenian visual culture.

8
Basketry is not, however, discussed in Amigues (2007), which surveys the use of vegetal
products based on the evidence of Theophrastus, who does mention basketry, if only in passing.
8

Chapter 4 uses this material to draw several conclusions on the ubiquity of baskets in
Athenian households as well as their usage in several specific occupations, such as
transportation of goods overland, fish traps, etc., illustrating the level of demand for
baskets in the economy. Chapter 5 attempts to reconstruct the production of baskets
by interpreting our (rather meagre) written sources by using both a comparative
ethnographic approach and a study of adjacent forms of production. It will also look
at the materials used to make baskets and consider their availability in the urban and
rural environments, and the effect that had on the form of production (domestic
production for immediate domestic use or production for sale on the market). Finally,
I include a table organizing the iconographic evidence I collected in order to present
in one place the remarkable quantity of visual evidence (baskets are represented on
well over one thousand Athenian vases). Many of these scenes, though, are generic
and the table allows a full presentation of the evidence, whilst allowing us to capture
the salient information without becoming bogged down by repetitive description.
I. Previous Literature
Surprisingly little work has been done on the basketry and wickerwork of ancient
Greece. Save for a precious few key studies9, this craft seems to be for the most part
unexplored. However, this lack of research may be due to the absence of basketry
within the archaeological record of antiquity, with the exception of Egyptian
baskets.10 Unlike sculpture, pottery, or metallurgy, which all leave behind traces of
their craft,11 baskets, do not. Instead, baskets were made of organic materials which

9
Schlep (1975); Efthymiou-Chatzilacou (1980); Betancourt (1990); Connor & Jackson (2000);
Novellino & Fusun Ertug (2006); Bichard (2008); Lebegyev (2010); Wills & Hacke (2010);
Cohen (2014); Trinkl (2014); Lebegyev (2015).
10
Willis and Hacke (2010).
11
Cf. Tsakirgis (2005). Discussed are three houses to the SW of the Athenian Agora in which
evidence of workshops was discovered. Among the finds were numerous short iron nails and bone
eyelets which were interpreted by the excavator, Dorothy Thompson, as indicative of a cobbler’s
9

deteriorate and over time disintegrate completely leaving little to no physical evidence
of their existence. Fortunately, however, fibre and wickerwork can occasionally be
preserved indirectly as an imprint in mud or clay.12 In that regard, an important article
by Judit Lebegyev traces these impressions in the context of Geometric Attica and
discusses the technicalities of two types of skeuomorphs, distinguishing between
replicas, for which existing baskets were used, and imitations, which are basically
copies in clay of a basket original.13 For the production of replica baskets, the existing
baskets were used as moulds by pressing soft clay into the interior surface of the
basket, resulting in an imprint of the wickerwork crosshatching on the surface of the
clay vase.14 Based on the surface patterns of these vases, the original baskets were
probably made of tightly-woven grassy fibres such as esparto grass or cereal straw,
made by a simple twining technique in which two weavers are twisted around the
stationary strands (known as warps). This technique resulted in the smooth surface
onto which the soft clay could easily be pressed.15 Distribution of these replicas is
exemplified by more than twenty finds throughout Attica, thirteen of which were
provenanced as follows: Athens- 4, Anavyssos- 3, Kallithea- 1, Laurion- 1, Merenda-
3, Thorikos- 116. The geographically restricted distribution suggests this method of
copying likely sprang up locally and became popular in the surrounding areas but did
not exceed the boundaries of Attica.

workshop. Additionally, a large amount of marble chips was found along with unfinished
sculpture, sculptor’s tools including a bone stylus, lead strips, a stone pounder, and a faceted piece
of pumice indicative of a sculptor’s workshop.
12
Trinkle (2014). For baskets and their function as moulds for clay vessels see Unruh (2007);
Betancourt (1990); cf Lebegyev (2010). For an example of such indentations, see net marks left on
an Attic red figure alabastron: BAPD 207244.
13
Lebegyev (2010), 101.
14
Lebegyev (2010), 102.
15
Lebegyev (2010), 103.
16
Lebegyev (2010), 103.
10

As for imitation copies, some vases can be considered translations of basket
shapes and/or feature basket-like surface treatment of the clay, though no existing
baskets were used in their production. Generally, these imitations are a simple
handleless shape that is relatively small in size, either wheel or handmade and has
short flaring sides, a flat base, and features painted decoration on the interior or
exterior that is reminiscent of woven reeds.17 The painted geometric patterns can be
either very rudimentary or quite complex and can include the standard Greek
meander, key-pattern, swastikas, and crosshatching. Even John Boardman agrees that
the inspiration behind these designs is likely wickerwork” or even fabric weaving
which produces similar patterns.18 This imitation basket vase type is represented in an
even smaller number than the basket replicas and may be considered a simpler,
discount version.19 Fortunately, further information about the original baskets can be
gleaned both through references to their shape and function within Athenian textual
sources and their depictions on painted pottery.
II. Textual sources
For this chapter I conducted a reverse English to Greek search for basket terms
using Perseus, eliminating all post-classical words, then used TLG to compile a full
list of references where this vocabulary is employed. Here, I set out the individual
terms and look at how their usage in Athenian texts sheds light on their functions. For
each entry, I give the definition found in LSJ, then move on to discuss the term in

17
Lebegyev (2010), 105.
18
Boardman (2001), 17.
19
Lebegyev (2010), 105.
11

more detail, examining its original literary context.20 I list each basket term in
alphabetical order, followed by the contextual discussion.
ἄρριχος, ‘wicker basket.’ This seems to be a relatively rare term. It appears in
Aristophanes’ Birds (1309): a herald arrives proclaiming the popularity of the new
City of the Birds, and says that ten thousand people have arrived looking for feathers
and hooked claws so that they can join it as new citizens. Pisthetaerus then tells his
slaves to go find every basket (arrhichos) they can and fill them with wings, in order
to cash in on the demand. Obviously, this is a joke, related to the absurd plot of the
play. Nevertheless, the reference suggests the multi-purpose function of baskets.
Theophrastus (CP 1.7.2) mentions growing plants in hanging arrhichoi, whilst
Athenaeus (4.139c), though writing much later, writes that arrhichoi were used to
carry bread into the Spartan messes. This term was therefore probably a generic one
for multi-purpose baskets.
γυργαθός, ‘wicker basket, creel.’ This seems to be a relatively rare term. It appears
in a rather confusing fragment of Aristophanes (fr. 226 K-A = Poll. 10.158): εἰ µὴ
δικῶν τε γυργαθοὺς ψηφισµάτων τε θωµοὺς φέροντες, ‘unless they’re carrying
baskets-full and heaps of decrees’ which may be a snippet from a joke but is
unintelligible without further context. The other classical-era reference to a gurgathos
is Aristotle’s description (HA 555b10) of a spider’s web, using the basket word
metaphorically to illustrate the web’s mesh-like construction.

20
Translations mostly follow LCL, except for Middle and New Comedy, where my translations
are based on J.M Edmonds, The Fragments of Attic Comedy, 3 vols., Leiden, 1957-9. As will
become apparent, comedy- often comic fragments- constitutes the richest source of evidence. I
have converted all of the comic fragments from the old Kock system to their listing in R. Kassel &
C. Austin, Poetae Comici Graeci, Berlin and New York, 8 vols., 1983-1998 (abbreviated to K-A),
the most recent edition of comic fragments, which is followed in the LCL Fragments of Old
Comedy by I. Storey and the recent LCL Athenaeus by S.D. Olson.
12

θυλακίσκος. LSJ defines this word as ‘bread basket.’ However, it is a diminutive of
thulakos, ‘sack,’ and it is hard to tell from its usage if it really was a basket or a sack.
A fragment of Aristophanes (fr. 557 K-A = Poll. Onom. 10.151) reads ‘then he went
to the fish market with his basket (spuris) and his thulakiskos and his great big purse.’
Presumably the thulakiskos is to be used for transporting the fish, but there is no
indication whether it is a basket or sack. A very Disney’s Fantasia-like fragment of
Crates I (fr. 16 K-A = Athen. 267e) talks about household objects being animated and
performing their roles without human aid and the thulakiskos, specifically, is told to
knead (so it must contain flour) but again whether it is a cloth sack or a closely-
woven, flexible basket is not clear.
κάλαθος, ‘basket narrow at base’; καλαθίσκος (diminutive). This kind of basket is
especially associated with wool working. A fragment of Eupolis (fr. 242 K- A = Poll.
7.29) reads ἄνευ καλαθίσκων καὶ πόρων καὶ πηνίων, ‘without kalathiskoi and wool
and spindles.’ The same association between wool working and the kalathos is found
in Aristophanes. In Lysistrata 535, Lysistrata, Calonice and Myrrhine mention a veil,
spindle and kalathos as typical female domestic items, whilst the term kalathiskos is
used as part of a wool-working metaphor at Lys. 579. A similar passage appears in the
Thesmophoriazusae in which the chorus leader compares the items of the male world
(spears, shields) to those of the domestic, female world (kalathiskoi, sunshades, etc.,
Thesm. 822). Like the term arrhichos (see above), a kalathos of bird wings appears in
a scene of the Birds (Av. 1325). Apollophanes (fr. 1 K-A = Athen. 11.467f) refers to a
dance called the kalathiskos, which Athenaeus discusses further at 14.630a.
13

καλαθηφόρος, ‘basket-carrying.’ Καλαθηφόροι is the title of a lost play by Eubulus
(fr. 39 K-A)
κάνεον, Attic contraction κανοῦν, ‘basket of reed or cane.’ This word goes back to
Homer (e.g. Il. 9.217; Od. 17.343). It is frequently employed for the basket that forms
part of the standard set of equipment used at an animal sacrifice. It is found in this
context in Euripides (Eur. Electra 800, 810, 1142; Hercules 926, 941, Iphigenia in
Aulis 435, 1470, 1565, 1569), and also in oratory (Dem. 22.78; 24.186; [Dem.] 59.78;
Aeschin. 3.120; Lycurgus fr. 7 Against Lycophron). The same association is seen in
comedy. A fragment of Nicostratus’ play The Couch (fr. 13 K-A = Athen. 3.11c) tells
of a large loaf called a nastos that peeked up over the rim of the sacrificial kanoun.
Aristophanes includes a kanoun in several sacrificial scenes (Ar. Ach. 244, 253; Pax
947, 956; Av. 43, 850, 863-4). A fragment of Diphilus (fr. 89 K-A) compares a fully
laden donkey to a sacrificial basket containing all the required paraphernalia: ἓν
ὀνάριον ἐξ ἀγροῦ µοι καταβαίνει καθ’ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἀγαπητῶς ὡσπερεὶ κανοῦν
µοι πάντ’ ἐνεσκευασµένον σπονδήν, ὀλάς, ἔλαιον, ἰσχάδας, µέλι); ‘once a year a little
donkey goes from my farm, sparsely equipped like a sacrificial basket: libation,
barley-grains, oil, figs, honey.’ A fragment of Plato Comicus (fr. 98 K-A) has a
character demand that the sacrificial basket be brought, and asks where the knife is
inside it. Similar scenes can be found in the plays of Menander (Dyscolus 440;
Perikeiromene 997; Samia 222).
In Menander’s Epitrepontes (439) the character Habrotonon makes a joke that
he has been celibate for two days, enough to qualify him to carry a kanoun in a sacred
procession (a role restricted to virgins). The role of κανήφορος, a basket-bearer in a
religious procession, is well attested. In one historical story, the sister of Harmodius
14

acted as a basket bearer in the Panathenaic procession before doubts were cast on her
virginity by the tyrant Hipparchus, leading to his assassination by Harmodius and
Aristogeiton (Thuc. 6.56; [Arist.] Ath.Pol. 18.2). Processional basket bearers are
attested in Aristophanes’ comedies (Ar. Ach. 242, 260; Lys. 646, 1193; Eccl. 732; Av.
1551), and a fragment of Hermippus (fr. 25 K-A) notes their powdery appearance, as
they are covered in barley dust. Processional basket bearers are also mentioned by
Plato (Hipparchus 229c2) and Lycurgus (fr. 7, Against Lycophron); and lost plays
named Kanephoros are attributed to Anaxandrides (fr. 22 K-A) and Menander (frgs.
196-200 K-A). What is strikingly consistent in all of these references is the religious
connotation of the term kanoun, which never seems to be employed outside a
sacrificial context.21
κανίσκιον, a diminutive of κάνεον. We have only one attestation of this term, in a
fragment of Aristophanes (fr. 173 K-A) ἄλλος δ ̓ εἰσέφερε πλεκτῷ κανισκίῳ ἄρτων
περίλοιπα θρύµµατα, ‘another was bringing leftover slices of bread in a little woven
basket.’
κίστη, ‘basket, hamper.’ This seems to be a relatively common term for a multi-
purpose basket. Pollux (Onom. 10.180) preserves a fragment of Aristophanes’ lost
play Amphiaraus (fr. 28 K-A): ‘baskets (kistai) were used not only to carry food or
hold clothing, but also by druggists, as Aristophanes says in his Amphiaraus: “and the
snakes that you supply, seal up in some basket (en kistê), and stop your drug-selling.”
The use of the kiste for medicines or drugs is also attested in a fragment of Sophocles’
Rhizotomoi, or Root Cutters (fr. 534 TrGF) preserved in Macrobius’ Saturnalia

21
On ancient Greek sacrifice see Naiden (2013), 39-81.
15

5.19.8, in which Medea uses a kiste to hold medicinal roots: ‘and she, looking back as
she did so, caught the white, foamy juice from the cut in bronze vessels… and the
hidden boxes (kistai) conceal the cuttings of the roots, which she, uttering loud ritual
cries, naked, was severing with bronze sickles.’ A similar purpose is found in a
fragment of Theopompus Comicus (fr. 3 K-A = Poll. 10.180): τὴν οἰκίαν γὰρ ηὗρον
εἰσελθὼν ὅλην κίστην γεγονυῖαν φαρµακοπώλου Μεγαρικοῦ; ‘When I went into the
house, I found it had become one whole medicine chest (kiste) belonging to a druggist
from Megara.’ These examples are all of dramatic scenes exaggerated for comic or
tragic effect, but the association between the kiste and medicinal herbs and roots is
incidental and thus seems realistic.
Like the kanoun, the kiste could be used in a sacrificial context: Aristophanes
(Thesm. 284) has a character ordering a slave to put down a kiste and take out a cake
for an offering. Other plays by Aristophanes display a range of uses for the kiste:
Acharnians 1086 refers to a feast, bringing a basket and cup; and at line 1098 he has a
character calling for slave to bring basket at a feast. In the Knights (1211, 1216) there
are references to kistai filled with various items bought at the agora; whilst in
Lysistrata (1184) a kiste is used as a kind of picnic basket. Alongside these incidental
references to kistai, there are some obviously comic usages, such as the kiste full of
truces that the goddess Peace allegedly brought to the Athenians after their victory at
Pylos (Pax 666).
κιστοφόρος, ‘carrying a basket.’ Demosthenes (18.260) uses the term κιττοφόρος
for individuals carrying baskets in a mystic procession.
16

κόφινος, ‘basket.’ This term is exclusively associated with outdoor activities, and
seems to imply a fairly sturdy, durable basket utilized for outdoor tasks. A rather
confusing fragment of Strattis (fr. 14 K-A) reads as follows:
(A.) ‘How did they [the Boeotians] sell grain to you?’
(B.) ‘Usually a basket (kophinos) for four drachmas’
(A.) ‘What are you saying? They used a basket as measurement?’
(B.) ‘… just the same, that a basket of wine holds three choes, and in the same amount for baskets
of wheat’
The reference to a kophinos of wine makes very little sense, since a basket
would hardly work as a container for liquids, though it is believable as a container for
selling grain (like the phormos discussed earlier). Two fragments of Aristophanes
attest to other uses: fr. 363 K-A (= Poll. 7.162) reads ‘you told us to haul baskets
(kophinous) of stones up to the roof’; whilst fr. 680 K-A (= Poll. 7.134) reads ‘he’ll
get a basket and collect dung.’ Without any further context, however, it is difficult to
know whether these references are comical and unrealistic, or incidental and realistic.
The Athenians did have a system of dung collection, however, so this could possibly
be the context for fr. 680 K-A;22 and Xenophon also uses the term kophinos for a
dung basket (Mem. 3.8.6). Another outdoor task that kophinoi were used for was in
beekeeping: Aristotle (HA 629a13) says that they are used to take honey out of
beehives. Other than that, we have a fragment of Plato Comicus (fr. 41 K-A) that
makes an unclear distinction between a kophinos and an arrhichos, whilst
Aristophanes, in a line already mentioned (see arrichos, above), orders some slaves to
fill every arrichos and kophinos they can lay hold of with wings (Av. 1310). Its

22
See Owens (1983).
17

association with the outdoors is reinforced by a line in Theophrastus’ Characters
(4.14) where the rustic man (agroikos) lends someone a plow or a sickle or a bag or a
kophinos, and asks for it back in the middle of the night, since he lacks good manners.
κύρτος, ‘weel, lobster pot.’ This term is used several times in Plato’s works. In
Plato’s Sophist (220c) there is a discussion of hunting and fishing, and the kurtos is
mentioned as a kind of trap alongside nets and snares. In Plato’s Timaeus the kurtos is
used as an analogy for the structure of animal bodies, whilst in Laws (823e) he says
that kurtoi are used as a lazy way of hunting for sea creatures. Aristotle (HA 603a)
provides more detail: ‘Two other hunting methods are also used by some people
against fishes. For because they avoid the deep water in rivers during the winter (for
in any case the fresh water is cold) people dig a trench through the dry ground into the
river; then they roof it over with grass and stones, making a sort of den that has an
exit from the river into it; and when there is a frost they catch the fishes out of it with
a wicker weel. And another method is used in summer and winter: they make a dam
with sticks and stones in the middle of the river, leaving an opening in which they fix
a weel, and so catch the fishes after taking away the stones from around the weel.’
λάρκος, ‘charcoal basket.’ This word was noted earlier in the discussion on the word
phormos, where a fragment of Lysias (fr. 192) says that a larkos is a phormos used for
carrying charcoal. The distinction between the two types, then, is due to function
rather than form. The association with charcoal is found again in two lines of
Aristophanes’ Acharnians, a play whose chorus is made up of charcoal-makers (Ar.
Ach. 333, 340), and in a fragment of Alexis (fr. 211 K-A = Poll. Onom. 10.111) which
reads: Ἀριστογείτονα τὸν ῥήτορ εἶδον λάρκον ἠµφιεσµένον τῶν ἀνθρακῶν); ‘I saw
18

Aristogeiton the orator wearing a larkos full of charcoal.’ A fragment of Euripides (fr.
283 TrGF) reads τοὺς ὄνους τοὺς λαρκαγωγοὺς ἐξ ὄρους οἴσειν ξύλα, ‘the donkeys
carrying charcoal baskets to bring wood from the mountain.’ In this instance, the
baskets were probably panniers as will be discussed further in the following chapters.
πλόκανον, ‘plaited-work, basket-work.’ This is a general term for woven material,
and comes from the verb πλέκω, ‘plait, twine.’ It can therefore be used both for
baskets and textiles. Xenophon uses the term for a kind of hunting snare, a
ποδοστράβη, which he says should be made of plaited holm oak, σµίλακος
πεπλεγµένας. It is also used in an ambiguous passage of Plato (Timaeus 52e6) and
may mean either a sieve or a winnowing fan. However, it is used to mean ‘basket’ in
Menander’s Sikyonioi 388, in a context of moving household possessions.
ῥιπίς. Although LSJ defines this word as ‘fan for raising the fire,’ it can be found in a
fragment of Crates I (fr. 15 K-A) with the meaning of ‘basket’: ‘in a wicker dung
basket’ (rhipidi kopragogo). This reference provides an alternative to the kophinos as
a dung basket (see above).
σαργάνη, ‘basket.’ This seems to be a rare term, but it appears in a fragment of
Timocles (fr. 16 K-A = Athen. 8.339e) relating to the sons of Chaerephilus, a salt-fish
seller who was made an Athenian citizen in the late fourth century BC. In a recent
study, E. Lytle has shown that it was a large basket used for the transport of produce,
especially the transport of salt fish to Athens from the north of the Black Sea.23

23
Lytle (forthcoming).
19

σπυρίς, ‘large basket, creel.’ Herodotus (5.16) uses this term is used for a creel or
fish basket. Aristophanes (fr. 427 K-A) speaks of a spuris of eels; and again in the
Peace (1005) he mentions spurides of eels being imported from Lake Copais in
Boeotia. As noted above (in relation to the word thulakiskos) another fragment of
Aristophanes (fr. 557 K-A) mentions a character going to the fish market with a
spuris. But the spuris could be used to contain or transport other items. A fragment of
Antiphanes (fr. 36 K-A = Athen. 3.127b) reads as follows:
(A.) What in the world is in these baskets (ἐν ταῖς σπυρίσι), my good friend?
(B.) Fine Megarian wheat groats are in three of them.
(A.) Don’t people say that the Thessalian variety is best?
(B.) . . . of Phoenicia . . . durum wheat, very finely sifted.
The final line here is incomplete, but it is clear nonetheless that these spurides
are used to hold grains. This connection might also explain an otherwise ambiguous
fragment of Aristophanes (fr. 427 K-A = Poll. Onom. 10.172): ‘a sizeable spuris and a
punch-bag such as wakes up even the kneading boys.’ A fragment of Diphilus (fr. 60
K-A = Athen. 10.422a-b) mentions putting a barley cake in a spuris; whilst a
fragment of Alexis (fr. 275 K-A = Athen. 2.49f) shows another usage in which a
man’s complexion is compared to a basket (spuris) of ripe plums. These references
suggest that the spuris, though primarily associated with the transport of fish, could be
used as a container for other goods too.
σώρακος, ‘basket.’ This seems to be a rare term. Pollux (Onom. 9.129-30) quotes a
line of Aristophanes (fr. 259 K-A): ‘among the receptacles for fruit… we might add
the sorakos, even if that is what the comic poets call the vessel where they store the
20

actors’ props: “such woes as my prop-box collected.” The comic poet Alexis wrote a
play called the Sorakos or which a fragment is preserved by Athenaeus (fr. 221 K-A =
Athen. 3.120), but this fragment does not shed light on the basket in any way.
τάλαρος, ‘basket.’ Aristophanes in the Frogs (560) has a female innkeeper
complaining that one of her guests has eaten all the new cheese, baskets (talaroi) and
all. A passage in the Odyssey (9.247) sheds some light on this passage: here, the
cyclops shuts Odysseus and his men into his cave; then he milks his sheep and goats,
curdles the milk, and places the curds in talaroi. These baskets, then, are used in the
cheese making process to separate the curds from the whey. Other references show a
wider use, however. Though it probably should not be taken seriously because again,
baskets would not make ideal liquid containers, a fragment of Cratinus (fr. 312 K-A =
Poll. Onom. 6.65) reads ‘your talaros will be full of fish sauce.’ However,
Theophrastus (CP 5.6.6-7) mentions a way by which gardeners grow cucumbers in
winter: they grow them in talaroi, water them with warm water, and bring them
indoors near a fire in cold weather. This is paralleled in Aristotle’s Problems
(924b13) which mentions the same method for growing gourds in winter, in talaroi.
ταρσός, ‘frame of wickerwork, crate, flat basket.’ This word is also found in
Homer. In the Odyssey (9.219), the cyclops’ cheeses are stored on or in tarsoi. It
appears in Athenian texts too: in Aristophanes’ Clouds (226) Strepsiades asks
Socrates if he speculates about the sun from the vantage point of a tarsos in the sky,
looking down upon the gods. As one of the only examples in classical Athenian
literature of the usage of this term to mean ‘basket’, however, this may just be a
reference to an obscure archaic word. Otherwise, it is used by Thucydides (2.76.1) for
21

a wattle support for a mound.
ὑριχός, ‘wicker basket, hand basket.’ This seems to be another rare term which is
found in a fragment of Alexis’ lost play The Cauldron (fr. 133 K-A = Athen. 3.76d):
‘And why should we, moreover, mention those who always sell figs in baskets? They
routinely put the hard, bad figs on the bottom and the nice, ripe ones on top. Then a
guy pays what’s asked, thinking he’s being sold good ones; and the vendor pops the
coin into his mouth and sells wild figs, while swearing he’s selling the domesticated
variety.’ This suggests that buyers would purchase figs by the basket-load. It also
suggests that he would buy the basket as part of the transaction, for how else could the
fact that the bad figs were at the bottom of the basket be concealed? This suggests that
baskets were relatively inexpensive in classical Athens.
φέρνιον, ‘fish basket.’ This seems to be another rare term, though it is found in a
fragment of Menander (fr. 468 K-A): ὁ προσιὼν γέρων ἁλιεύς, παρ’ οὗ τὸ φέρνιον
τρίτην ταύτην ἐπριάµεθ’ ἡµέραν, ‘here’s the old fisherman, from whom we bought
the fish basket two days ago.’
φορµός, ‘basket for carrying corn.’ This term was used as a rough measure, and
appears in Lysias’ speech Against the Corn Dealers (22.5-6), which refers to a law
that forbade individuals from buying more than 50 phormoi of corn. A. Bresson
argues that the phormos in this context was not a basket, but a sack, though nobody
knows precisely what volume such a sack or basket held.24 The term appears again in
a fragment of Lysias’ For Kallipides (fr. 192): λάρκος· Λυσίας ἐν τῷ πρὸς

24
Bresson (2015), 495.
22

Καλλιππίδην. λάρκος ἐστὶ φορµὸς εἰς ὃν ἄνθρακας ἐνέβαλλον. ‘Larkos: Lysias in his
For Kallipides. A larkos is a basket (phormos) in which charcoal is put.’ This term
phormos is found several times in the plays of Aristophanes. In the
Thesmophoriazusae, the chorus leader explains at length why women are more
worthy to lead the state than men saying that whilst men embezzle large sums of
public money, the worst women do is steal a phormos of corn from their husbands,
and even then, they return it to them later in the day (Ar. Thesm. 813). The term
appears again in this play at line 1007, when Mnesilochus has been caught entering
the Thesmophoria and is tortured by a Scythian archer. The archer says that he will
find a phormos (here spelled πορµός) to lie on so as to keep watch over him. This
would seem to show the appropriation of a common domestic basket for use as a
makeshift seat or mat. A similar usage is conveyed in Wealth line 542, when the
miserable conditions of the poorest citizens are described. Among other things, the
poorest sort of citizen has to make do with a rotten phormos instead of a rug (tapes).
We also possess a brief but uninformative fragment of Aristophanes that has the two
words φορµῷ σχοινίνῳ, ‘with a plaited phormos’ (fr. 168 K-A = Poll. Onom. 9.169).
Aristotle (Rhetoric 1385a27), in discussing acts of altruism, mentions the man who
gave another man a phormos at the Lyceum. Given the context and the earlier
references from Aristophanes, it is possible this refers to someone giving the man a
phormos as a makeshift mat to lie down upon. Theophrastus (HP 2.6.11) writes of the
dwarf palm, stating that it is common in Crete and Sicily; it has broad, flexible leaves
and is used to make spurides (see above) and phormoi. Whilst that phormoi were
probably not always made from this specific material, the mention of flexibility holds
the key to resolving the issue of whether the phormos was a sack or a basket. The idea
of a rigid wicker basket makes no sense in the above contexts. It would not be
23

comfortable to sit on, and grain would run through the gaps in its meshwork.
However, a more flexible, sack shaped kind of basket made from pliable materials
makes better sense, since it could easily be used as a makeshift mat, and could be
used to contain grain if it were closely woven. As we will see below, it is probable
that the larkos mentioned by Lysias for carrying charcoal was very similar in design
and could be carried by donkeys as panniers.
φορµίς, diminutive of φορµός: In the Wasps (58), Aristophanes has his character
Xanthias introduce the play and say that there won’t be any fancy features such as a
slave throwing nuts to the audience ἐκ φορµίδος, ‘from a small basket.’ A fragment of
the later comic poet Alexis (fr. 311 K-A) mentions a φορµὶς ἰσχάδων, a ‘basket of
dried figs’, which suggests a similar usage. On the other hand, Aristotle (HA 547a2)
uses the word for a fish trap, whilst Plato (Lys. 206e) says that boys who play
knucklebones keep them in a phormiskos, another diminutive variant of phormos.
This knucklebone bag or basket has been identified in scenes from Athenian painted
pottery.25
φορµοφορέω, verb, ‘carry a basket.’ Phormophoroi (‘The Basket-Bearers’) is the
name of a lost play by Hermippus (see frags. 61-67 K-A).
III. Iconography
Despite the relative lack of scholarly interest in basketry, this is far from a lack of
source material; in fact, baskets are depicted extremely frequently in Attic painted
pottery in addition to their attestations in textual sources. I have conducted a search of

25
See Cohen (2014): 33.
24

the online Beazley Archive Pottery Database (BAPD) using the keyword “basket”
which yielded over 1300 examples. A lot of these examples appear in generic sort of
scenes, which I have organized in Table 1 and will refer to throughout this section.
These representations of baskets are surprisingly frequent and surprisingly varied.
Baskets can be used in numerous ways and exist in a variety of assorted shapes. The
form and shape of each basket is naturally correlated to its function appearing with or
without a lid, with a circular, square or oval base, cylindrical or rectangular body,
with or without handle or feet. Some baskets are made for a very specific purpose,
which is indicated by their distinctive shape; for instance fish traps, or the kanoun.26
In addition to the wide array of basket shapes, the fabrication adds another
variable to the equation. A general distinction can be drawn between rigid and soft
baskets. Rigid baskets are often strengthened at the four corners by wooden support
rods and have a base supported by crossed rods which lend stability to the basket.27
Generally, baskets used for transporting agricultural crops tend to be rigid (such as the
modern maunds discussed chapter 4), while those used for carrying heavy loads, for
instance on a skeuophorion or anaphoron (i.e. carrying pole)28, are more flexible. The
translation of these differences, however, prove to be particularly challenging to
clearly depict on two dimensional painted pottery.29

26
Trinkl (2014), 191; Schlep (1975).
27
Novellino and Fusun-Ertung (2006), 622-3.
28
Skeuophorion: Ar. fr. 886 K-A; Plato Comicus fr. 50 K-A; Anaphoron: Ar. Ran. 8; Asilla:
Arist. Rhet. 1.7.32. See Chatzdimitriou (2008) for discussion of land transport and the use and
depiction of these carrying poles.
29
Cohen (2014) details the difficulty in differentiating variations of woven wickerwork and
netting on painted pottery. The methods of portraying these items are described chronologically
through black figure and later red, contrasting that of Exekias, in which diagonally hatched lines
are incised on curved black-glazed silhouettes with that of the Amasis Painter who instead
indicates baskets by broad cross-hatching of black painted on the reserve.
25

The Shapes

The shape on which the most research exists is the kalathos, or wool-basket. It is
most widely associated with the storage of carded wool in preparation for spinning,
but can also be used to hold food, children’s toys, or flowers.30 The term kalathos is
used primarily for a basket of a specific shape, that is—a wider mouth that tapers
toward the base, usually without a lid or handles—most often made of willow rods.31
From the geometric period on, potters imitated the shape of the kalathos, though
scaled down in size. 32 The surface can be left undecorated or can be decorated with
patterns often reminiscent of a woven material.33
A vast amount of scholarship is dedicated to the symbolism relayed by these
baskets. As S. Lewis points out in her book on Athenian women, “wool working
functions as an ideological marker across all media: literature, epitaphs, and art,
marking women as virtuous and therefore tends to function as a sort of shorthand for
female work in general.”34
It is clear that scenes of wool working constitute a significant portion of
female work represented on painted pottery. Among these representations however, a
distinction is worth noting between scenes of work or production of spun wool and
textiles, where the subjects in the scene are actually working, and scenes of leisure or
domestic life where wool working tools are present but instead are simply functioning
as these markers. 35 For instance, in some wedding scenes the bride holds tools

30
Trinkle (2014), 191.
31
Trinkle (2014), 191.
32
Lebegyev (2010), 101-2. Miniatures known as “kalathiskoi” (see literary sources).
33
For fragments of baskets with perforated bodies from a grave of the Athenian agora: Mains,
Johannes Gutenberg University 52, BAPD 1003558
34
Lewis (2002), 62.
35
Lewis (2002), 59. It is worth noting that most vases depicting domestic scenes are not found on
shapes of pottery that are viewed as distinctly ‘female’. Shapes such as pyxides, lekythoi or lebetes
26

associated with wool working, but it is not in the act of spinning, and similarly, a
woman may sit near a kalathos but is not, in fact, working wool. 36 Below, Figure 1
shows a seated woman with a kalathos behind her on the floor. As she is not
physically involved in any wool working action, the basket here indicates an interior
domestic scene. A striking 137 domestic scenes featuring baskets are presented in
Section IV of Table 1 with 53 of those featuring a kalathos specifically.
Fig. 1
White ground Lekythos, woman with kalathos
Fig. 2 Red-figure amphora, Cambridge,Harvard University, Arthur M.

Sackler Museum: 1972.45. BAPD 207394

often depict scenes of marriage, leisure and revelry, while proper work appears far more often on
cups, kraters or pelikai, perhaps indicating that the purpose of domestic imagery was not to
reinforce the stereotypes of good Athenian women. Pots found within Athens show that female
buyers were instead drawn to pots depicting scenes of leisure, while domestic work is found more
often on pots intended for export.
36
Trinkl (2014), 196-7; Vidale (2002) 325-474; Harris (2015) 185-204.
27

In addition to the well discussed kalathos, other basket shapes appear
similarly, if not more frequently throughout painted pottery. One of these recurrent
shapes is a flat bottomed, rectangular, shallow basket sometimes with gently sloping
sides. Seen in funerary scenes, it is generally carried by a woman in front of or near a
tomb or stele and contains within it fillets, ribbons, wreaths, or jars of oil. This basket
shows almost no variation in shape or size and is almost exclusively depicted on
lekythoi, as one would expect given its funerary context. It is depicted on 209 vases as
show in Section I of Table 1. Interestingly, this funerary function is a context that the
literary sources do not mention, and thus highlights the value of the iconographic
evidence, which can cover gaps left in the written sources. This same rectangular,
shallow basket is also seen in scenes of wedding processions in which it is used in the
same manner as in funerary scenes- that is, used to carry ribbons, wreaths, and oil
jars. Section II of Table 1 notes 14 of these scenes.
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
White ground lekythos Toronto, White ground lekythos Madison, WI
Royal Ontario Museum: Elvehjem Art Centre: EAC 70.2.
929.22.7.
28

In symposium scenes, a round based basket of medium depth is often seen
suspended in the background by ropes which crisscross the body. This likely indicates
an interior rather than an exterior setting and acts a sort of short hand, similar to that
of kalathos in domestic scenes. This shape is also present in a variety of other interior
scenes, such as educational school scenes. Section III of Table 1 records 81 depictions
of this round based basket in symposia scenes alone.
Fig. 5
Red-Figure Kylix, Colmar Painter
Fig. 6
Red-figure cup, Basel,
Antinkenmuseum und
Sammlung Ludwig: BS440,
BAPD 203338
Fig. 7
Red-figure cup, Paris, Musée du Louvre:
G133
29

The sacrificial basket, or kanoun, consists of a wide, flat base that then
protrudes upwards in a number of different variations, though these small differences
may simply be stylistic. Some are seen with sides of parabola-shaped rods, sometimes
decorated with added dots (as in Fig.9); some are depicted as crude triangles, while
others feature more elegant, curving petal-shaped sides, or appear to be scalloped.
They are generally held near an altar or in a sacrificial procession. The many stylistic
varieties are all included and appear on 66 vases as seen in section V of Table 1.
Fig. 8 Fig.9
Red-figure pelike, Berlin, Red-figure lebes, The State Hermitage
Antikensammlung: F2171, BAPD 206706 Museum, St. Petersburg: P1906.175
Fig. 10 Fig. 11
Red-figure Lekythos, Paris, Red-figure stamnos, Paris, Musée du
Musée du Louvre: CA2567 Louvre: G407
30

Hunting37 and fishing baskets depicted tend to vary in both size and shape, and
are similarly artistically rendered to large nets as seen in Figure 12. Smaller, round
bottomed baskets with handles for carrying the fish caught as in Figure 14 and Figure
15 side A (or carried on a skeuophorion in Figure 15 side B38) are the most common.
Other very specific shapes such as the submerged fish trap also depicted in Figure 14,
which has clearly delineated horizontal rods within it to help it maintain its shape, as
well as a distinctive circular opening at the top. Hunting and fishing scenes appear in
a mere 4 vases in section VIII of Table 1, though the three images listed below,
Figure 12 featuring the fishermen with a large tangle of net, 13 featuring a hare
running into a large wicker trap, and 14 depicting a boy holding both a fishing rod and
small handheld basket crouching over a submerged fish trap, are not included in my
table.
Fig. 12 Red-figure psykter. Malibu, California

J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Gift of
Herbert L. Lucas: 83.AE.285. From Cohen, (2014).
Fig. 13 Red-figure askos, side B

With running hare jumping into
net or woven trap, Ashmolean
Museum, University of Oxford:
AN1979.20

37
For more on the iconography of hunting see Barringer (2001) 96-8, in which other examples of
net traps are discussed.
38
Chatzidimitriou, (2008).
31

Fig. 14 Red- figure cup tondo, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, H.L. Pierce
Fund: 01.8024 From: Villaneuva-Puig, (1992)
Fig. 15 Red-figure pelike sides A & B, Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum,

Antikensammlung: IV 3727. From: Villaneuva-Puig, (1992), BAPD: 206331
Agricultural and vintage baskets are usually depicted as either large, very
deep, and are positioned on the ground beneath the tree; or smaller and handled,
carried by the fruit pickers. In the case of vintage baskets, these can be similarly large
and deep, or instead, feature a flat bottom and are perched on elevated tables in which
the grapes are trod, usually by satyrs, in order for the juice to run down a spout into a
32

second container on the ground. These scenes appear on 29 vases in section VII of
Table 1.
Fig. 16 Red-figure column krater, Orchard Painter
Fig. 17
Red-figure cup, Compiègne, Musée
Vivenel: 1090.
Fig. 18
Black-figure amphora type B,
Basel, Antikenmuseum Basel
Und Sammlung Ludwig:
Kä 420.
33

The rather broad category of komos scenes is best described as men or youths
congregating for a number of purposes including general revelry and drinking. In
these scenes, the round based basket is often depicted hanging in the background (as
in the symposia scenes), along with baskets fixed with over-the-shoulder straps
carried on the back like a pack; smaller rounded baskets suspended from a staff;
handled baskets; handled baskets with feet; and flat, circular serving baskets. The
forms depicted in these scenes are as varied as the scenes themselves. 58 vases carry
komos scenes as seen in section VII of Table 1.
Fig. 19
Black-figure lekythos with Komos scene.
Men, some with staffs, kantharos, drinking
horn, one playing pipes, dog with basket.
Syracuse, Museo Arch. Regionale
Paolo Orsi: 2287. BAPD 46922
In an addition to the fairly regularized hanging baskets featured in symposia
and komos scenes, a flat, circular basket with very shallow or no sides is often
depicted being used for serving and carrying food at these functions. Satyrs, maenads,
women, or youthful attendants hold these baskets offering fruit or cakes. Again, these
scenes largely appear on vessels used for drinking and thus implies use at symposia.
34

Fig. 20 Red-figure lebes fragment
Paris, Musée du Louvre: CA 1679
The sheer number of examples and range of uses uncovered in my pottery search
was not only unexpected but truly staggering. These representations of basketry in
Athenian visual culture complement the references in the literary sources, proving
that baskets were a common and versatile kind of container used throughout ancient
Athens. The iconography set forth here, as well as more that I have surely missed,
provides precious and unique evidence for the shapes and appearances of baskets
which the literary sources cannot achieve in any precise manner. A picture is worth a
thousand words, as they say.
IV. A Brief Word on Ubiquity

Based on the evidence set out in the previous two chapters, it seems clear that
baskets were a common item in classical Athenian society, particularly within the
oikos. The versatility of these items makes them an ideal container for use across a
broad spectrum of contexts.39 Every household would have had basketry of some
kind, and likely more than one: first, women in nearly all households produced

39
Bichard (2008).
35

textiles40, so would have therefore required a kalathos. Secondly, everyone conducted
sacrifices: even the relatively poor characters we find in Aristophanes’ plays have a
kanoun. Thirdly, most of Attica’s inhabitants were farmers (Thuc. 2.14.2). Any
farmers who grew vines, vegetables, fruits, picked olives, or kept bees would have
needed baskets for their collection. Additionally, baskets were vital in transport, both
long distance (e.g. the sargane used to transport fish, or the spuris used to transport
eels from Boeotia)41 and short distance, as with the skeuophorion or anaphoron.
Furthermore, every Athenian buried their dead, so they must have also used the
funerary offering baskets seen so frequently on lekythoi. This picture constitutes an
absolute minimum, and it is rather more likely that average households employed
these relatively cheap and versatile containers for an even wider range of tasks.
Baskets were literally everywhere, which implies a large level of production.
V. Production

This brings us to the production of baskets itself. All that we possess on the
process of basket making is a passage from Pollux’s Onomasticon that quotes several
classical Athenian writers. Pollux’s text is a wordbook written in the 2nd century AD,
and its main aim is to collect classical Athenian vocabulary on a range of themes. At
the time when it was written, during the ‘Second Sophistic’, there was a high level of
interest in reproducing the Attic Greece of the 5th and 4th centuries BC.42 Pollux is
therefore a valuable resource for missing works, especially lost comedies, and many
of the comic fragments discussed in chapter 1 come from this text. In a section on
baskets (Onom. 7.176), Pollux writes the following:

40
Harris (2015).
41
See chapter 1 for further discussion.
42
On Pollux see König (2016).
36

οἰσυπλόκος δὲ ὁ τὰς οἰσύας πλέκων· οἰσύαι δὲ αἱ λύγοι, καὶ οἰσύινα σκεύη καὶ οἰσύιναι ἀσπίδες.
τὸν δὲ οἰσυπλόκον οἰσουργὸν καλεῖ Εὒπολις. κάνναι δὲ τὸ ἐκ καννάβων πλέγµα· ῥῖπές τινές εἰσιν
ἐν Ἀριστοφάνους Σφηξίν
οὐ µή ποτέ σου περὶ τὰς κάννας οὐρήσω
καὶ τὸ κανοῦν δὲ πλέγµα τι, καὶ τὸ κανίσκιον· ἐν γὰρ τῷ Γηρυτάδῃ φησὶν Ἀριστφάνης πλεκτῷ
κανισκίῳ. καὶ γυργάθους δὲ πλέκειν ἔλεγον· ὁ δὲ γύργαθος ὠνόµασται ἐν τοῖς Ἀριστοφάνους
Δαιταλεῦσιν.
Wicker-weaver (oisuplokos): he who weaves wicker: wicker (oisuai) being withies (lugoi); and
‘wickerwork items’ and ‘wicker shields.’ Eupolis (fr. 192 K-A) calls the wicker-weaver a ‘wicker-
worker’ (oisourgos). Reed mats (kannai) are woven from hemp; certain wickerwork items (rhipes)
are mentioned in Aristophanes’ Wasps (line 394):
‘I will never pee against your wicker fence’
And the kanoun is an item of wickerwork, as is the kaniskion. In the Gerytades (fr. 173 K-A)
Aristophanes says ‘in a little woven basket (kaniskion).’ And they used to say ‘to weave creels’;
and a creel (gurgathos) was named in Aristophanes’ Banqueters (fr. 226 K-A).
This passage is valuable because it is the only source that provides the
Athenian word for a wickerworker: oisourgos, quoting a lost play of Eupolis. But it
does not give any other details on the production of baskets. To tackle this issue, I
will therefore look at two things. First, garland weaving. This is in technical terms
very similar to basketry, as it involves weaving flexible plant fibres into a more
complex product. We have more evidence on garland making than basket making in
classical Athens, and since it is likely that basketry was produced similarly to
garlands, garland making can give us some clues about how basket making may have
37

worked. Secondly, I will look at some ethnographic evidence. There is a great deal of
continuity in this traditional craft skill, and by looking at the materials and methods
used by modern Mediterranean basket makers, we can find clues to how the same
process was undertaken in the ancient world.
According to Theophrastus (HP 5.6.2), the hoops of garlands were made from
mulberry or wild fig. They would then be decorated with foliage and sometimes
flowers. They were a popular item that could be bought in the agora, and
Aristophanes refers to the garland stalls in his Ecclesiazusae (302). The most useful
passage on garland making is in Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae (446-58). This
describes the daily routine of a poor woman whose husband died in the Peloponnesian
War, leaving her to fend for herself. She appears as a character in the comedy in order
to accuse Euripides, whom the women of Athens claim has slandered them in his
plays:
My husband died at Cyprus, leaving me five children, whom I had great trouble to bring
up by weaving garlands at the myrtle market. Anyhow, I lived as well as I could until this
wretch had persuaded the spectators by his tragedies that there were no gods; since then I
have not sold as many garlands by half. I charge you therefore and exhort you all to
punish him, for does he not deserve it in a thousand respects, he who loads you with
troubles, who is as coarse toward you as the vegetables upon which his mother reared
him? But I must back to the market to weave my garlands; I have twenty to deliver yet.
This passage suggests that garland weaving was undertaken in the agora at the
myrtle stalls. Since it is quite a simple procedure, it does not seem to have required
the same level as skill as that of some other artisans like potters or sculptors, or much
in the way of special equipment. And it looks like the woman only took up this craft
after her husband died. A similar situation is found in another of Aristophanes’ plays,
38

the Frogs (1346-51), which describes a woman who spins wool at home and then
goes to the agora as soon as dawn arrives to sell her yarn.43
If basket making was similar to these, then it could have been done at home,
though as I stated in the introduction, there are no vase paintings of women weaving
baskets at home, whilst there are numerous depictions of women making textiles.
Even if they were produced at home, though, this does not mean that they were
always used by their producers. N. Cahill calls domestic production for sale at market
‘household industry’, arguing that “most households produced or processed their own
food, cloth, and other staples: industries of a sort but aimed at maintaining the self-
sufficiency of the household not at creating closer economic ties with other
households in the polis. Other types of production, by contrast, were meant primarily
for the consumption outside the household, and tied the household into wider
economic networks, either by barter or exchange on the market. Other households
produced normal household products such as cloth or food, but on a larger scale than
the household required. The surplus again must have been traded or sold.”44 There is
no reason to believe baskets were not a commodity produced and sold in this surplus
manner. As the skills used in their production could be learned, and as noted, required
no special equipment, baskets could have been produced domestically for domestic
use, and once the needs of the oikos were met, the surplus could have been sold in the
marketplace.
Another factor to consider is the availability of materials. For Athenians living
in the countryside, it may have been possible to find materials nearby from which
baskets could be woven for the household. This is especially true of straw, since a fair
amount of Attica was cropped with barley and wheat. But in the city, this cannot have

43
These passages are discussed in Brock (1994).
44
Cahill (2005), 55.
39

been practical, and like garland weavers and wool workers, it is likely that artisans
specialized in producing baskets and sold them in the agora. Many of the city’s
inhabitants were specialized in retail or artisan occupations that would not have given
them time to produce baskets at home.45 And since baskets were ubiquitous in the
Athenian oikos, most people in the city probably bought them at the agora.
Ancient Materials
Some evidence on the materials used for basketry can be found in two works
by Theophrastus, who was Aristotle’s successor at the Lyceum: the Historia
Plantarum, or Inquiry into Plants, and the De Causis Plantarum, or On the Causes of
Plants. He says in HP 5.7.7 that willow is used to make shields, and two types of
basket: the kiste and the kaneon (ἰτέᾳ δὲ πρός τε τὰς ἀσπίδας καὶ τὰς κίστας καὶ τὰ
κανᾶ καὶ τἆλλα). He mentions that kistai are also made from lime tree bark (HP
3.10.4; 5.7.5) and the bark of the bird cherry (HP 3.13.1). In Book 4.10 he discusses
the plants of Lake Copais in Boeotia – recall that in chapter 1 a reference from
Aristophanes’ Peace (1005) referring to spurides of eels being brought from Lake
Copais was noted. Theophrastus says (HP 4.10.4) that a plant called the phleos and
the sedge are useful for basketry (χρήσιµον δὲ πρὸς τὰ πλόκανα). As a wetland with
lots of reeds and canes, it is likely that many baskets were produced in this area.
Finally, as noted in chapter 1, Theophrastus mentions the dwarf palm as an African
plant used to make baskets (spurides), which is also found in Crete and Sicily (HP
2.6.11); even if this plant was only used for baskets in Africa, it is significant that
Theophrastus says that it was flexible and used to make spurides – this suggests that
the spuris was a flexible rather than a rigid kind of basket.

45
See Harris (2002).
40

However, despite the value of these references, Theophrastus mentions
basketry in passing, and it is not likely that he listed every last plant used to produce
basketry. A look at modern ethnographic studies will help broaden our picture.
Ethnographic Parallels
Since there is little in the way of detailed information from the Classical
period regarding the materials and methods used for weaving, it is useful to consider
ethnographic parallels. The basketry materials and methods featured below, then,
instead reflect current work as well as that of the last century. However, these
materials and methods will be relatively consistent with those utilized in antiquity by
farmers and fishermen using the materials which grow readily in their climates.46
The typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy
winters naturally restricts the vegetation that will thrive in this environment. The tree
resources, then, consist of willow, chestnut, hazel, olive, and vine plus the chaste tree
and myrtle.47 Straw is usually available besides reeds and rushes wherever there is
adequate moisture. A key plant used in the craft of basketry is the Mediterranean
cane.48
Modern Materials
Basket-makers have naturally used whatever local plant materials that could
be easily grown and processed into thin, pliable strips of a sufficient length for
weaving. The desired qualities of ideal plants vary according to the type of basket
work being done (such as rigid versus flexible), but length, straightness, uniform
thickness, strength, and elasticity all remain consistently important throughout. For
coarser works, or when weaving was to be done underwater, the bark could have been

46
Bichard (2008).
47 Bichard (2008), 230.
48
Bichard (2008), 230.
41

left on. For finer works, the bark would have needed to be stripped off. In the case
that a plant produces rods that are too thick for weaving, they are split into two, three,
or four smaller strands. Much finer strands are characteristic of cereal straws, such as
wheat (Triticum) or rye (Secale), or other grasses and sedges.49 However, these
strands are too weak on their own to weave without breakage occurring, but, by
gathering thin bundles and tying them together with a strand of tougher material, a
continuous rope-like structure can successfully be made. 50
Specific wetland plant species used for basketry include the reed (Phragimites
australis), the reedmace (Typha angustifolium), the freshwater rush (Schoenoplectus
scirpus), the pointed rush (juncus acutus), and the exotic reed (arundo donax), which
is known throughout the Mediterranean as “cane”.51 In antiquity, local basketry
traditions around lake Copias in Boeotia were probably different to those of Attica,
which had little marshland and therefore must have yielded different materials.
Arundo donax can be found bordering the Mediterranean from Spain to
Turkey.52 The unbranched hollow stems of this cane are split lengthwise into up to six
rods which can then be smoothed and reduced to a constant width ideal for weaving.
Cane is normally used in conjunction with other rods (including brown, buff or white
willow, hazel, chaste tree, and wild olive)53. These tougher rods, then, make up the
base, side stakes, border, and handles, whilst the smoothed cane makes up the side
weaving. However, examples can be found where some or even all of the other
component parts are also cane.54

49
Bichard (2008).
50
Novellino & Fusun Ertug (2006), 660.
51
52
Bichard (2008).
53 Bichard (2008), 233.
54
Bichard (2008), 233.
42

Techniques
The rudimentary skills necessary for basket weaving would have been
common knowledge amongst rural families, and the necessary tools of production
were simple.55 Collection of plant materials and weaving would have been done in the
off-season, often in winter, in order to replace basic household items which had worn
out over time. Individuals with a higher skill level could have produced a surplus for
later sale. As demand for these versatile containers grew, skillful individual basket
makerrs began to specialize in the craft for at least part of the year. Where more
formal workshops emerged, basket weaving masters would pass on their craft to
apprentices and journeymen.56 In antiquity, cities such as Athens and Piraeus exerted
a large amount of demand for baskets, and the term oisourgos noted by Eupolis
probably denotes a specialized basket-maker rather than one of a part-time nature.
Several different weaving techniques were employed depending upon the
plant material available and the individual weavers’ skill level. One technique—
coiling—involves twisting a continuous length of rope-like reed into a spiral and
sewing each successive row to the one before it. Another technique involves plaiting
bundles of thin stems into multi-way braids which are then cut and sewn into the
finished containers. As Bichard describes, “many professionals would start by
weaving a more or less flat base, upending the stakes and weaving the sides and
finally weaving the ends of the stakes into a border and adding one or more handles.
This is termed ‘stake and strand’.”57 Homemade baskets were more often built using a
technique which began with a frame, usually formed by two hoops set at right angles.

55 Bichard (2008).
56
57 Bichard (2008).
43

One then places the ends of shaped ribs where the hoops intersect, and weaving across
these ribs from each side, until the bottom weaver strands meet in the center.58
Usage
The finished baskets are then classified by their function and usage. The most
prominent group consists of baskets used in the house or by people in their household
activities. These range from house components such as woven wall paneling and
furnishings, like the previously mentioned woven chairs and mats, to sandals, laundry
baskets, and containers for food gathering, preparation, and storage. A second group
pertains to agriculture and the collection of crop yields, and a third category pertains
to traps utilized in hunting and fishing. Additionally, many baskets were employed in
the transport of produce and then, subsequently, in its commercial display to
customers in the marketplace.59
Very specific shapes, such as the fish traps seen below in figure 21, appear to
be of a similar construction to those classical versions seen in painted pottery (see
Figure 14).
Figure 21, Modern Sardinian fish traps, shape

and size similar across Mediterranean.

58
59
44

Figure 22: Man with modern, newly made maunds
made of willow with cane siding from Corinth
The agricultural forms known as maunds were made in a range of sizes from
from 35 up to 75 cm.60 These were used for transport of fruits and vegetables
including but not limited to zucchini, tangerines, tomatoes, grapes, citrus fruits and
olives; artichokes; melons; and tobacco leaves.61 However, these were not exclusively
used in the agricultural real. Other professions such as bakers, fishermen, and
beekeepers also utilized the maund, as well as housewives who used them for bread
containers or laundry baskets.62
In southwest Turkey, small arm baskets (Figure 23) were used for carrying
small, lightweight items such as eggs or herbs, and are produced using olive wood
stems as stakes, clematis weavers for the base, and cane sides. This same method of
curving the top halves of the side stakes to make a border and then down as a side
decoration is also widespread throughout Greece. 63
Figure 23, Arm basket made of olive or willow

with cane weavers. Skyros, Greece.
Photo: Museum Falteitz, Skyros.

60 Bichard (2008), 232.
61
Bichard (2008), 232.
62
Bichard (2008), 232.
63
Bichard (2008), 234.
45

Lastly, donkey paniers used for carrying ceramic water containers are woven of
straw-like material, such as esparto grass, and are still used in Spain.64 An easy
parallel can be drawn to paniers of very similar construction used in antiquity and
exemplified in Figure 25 and are likely exactly the form referenced by Euripides by
the term λάρκος as discussed in Chapter II.
(Right) Fig. 24 Modern donkey

paniers woven of Esparto grass,
Spain
(Left) Fig. 25 Bronze donkey carrying

paniers, Roman, British Museum, inv.
1868,0520.50
VI. Conclusion

I hope that my collection of material and analysis has established that baskets
were indeed present everywhere in classical Attica, despite their absence in the
archaeological record, though, admittedly, this subject area certainly requires and

64 Bichard (2008), 663.
46

deserves further study. I hope that my contribution has at least sketched the outlines
of basketry in classical Attica. The list of terms compiled in Chapter 1 is fairly
comprehensive, but more work could be done in the future on integrating the evidence
of epigraphy and stone reliefs as well as that of terracotta figurines, none of which
were included in my research. It seems that the age old skill of basket weaving
practised in classical Greece is, in fact, probably not so different from those practiced
today in the Mediterranean by traditional basket makers. And while perhaps baskets
in the modern world have been overshadowed by metals and plastics, I would argue
these products still maintain a constant presence in homes and in shops throughout the
world.
47

Appendix I: Iconography
For this table, I have grouped together scenes that appear repeatedly and are of a
similar, specific type. While my search of the Beazley Archives yielded over 1,300
results, I have excluded from this list examples which give no insight into the function
of the basket within the scene, for example scenes that feature only a lone figure
holding a basket with no other context.
I. Funerary scenes. These scenes featuring a woman holding a rectangular
basket containing fillets, ribbons, wreaths, oil jars, etc. standing or sitting
at tomb or stele. With a few exceptions, they tend to follow the same
general pattern with regard to their shape and size and are featured almost
exclusively on lekythoi.
BAPD # Basket Shape Function in Scene Pot Shape Date

480 Rectangular, Funerary Loutrophoros 525-475
shallow
1924 Shallow, wider at Funerary Lekythos 450-400
mouth
2134 Rectangular, Funerary Lekythos Not listed
shallow
shallow
shallow
2752 Rectangular, Funerary Lekythos 475-425
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
3309 Rectangular, Funerary Squat lekythos 425-375
shallow frag.
shallow
48

shallow
10617 Rectangular, Funerary Loutrophoros 450-400
shallow fragment
10661 Rectangular, Funerary Squat lekythos 450-400
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
49

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
209091 Narrower at base Funerary Lekythos 475-425
than mouth, handle,
three feet,
suspended in
background
shallow

shallow

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
50

209274 Narrower at base Funerary Lekythos 500-450
than mouth, handle,
three feet,
suspended in
background
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
51

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
52

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
53

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
54

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow fragments
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
219000 Rectangular, Funerary Skyphos 450-400
55

shallow

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
361401 Rectangular, Funerary Bail amphora 525-475
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
56

shallow

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
II. Wedding procession. These scenes contain the same rectangular, shallow
shape seen in funerary scenes, and are again used for holding fillets,
wreaths, oil jars etc.
BAPD # Basket Shape Function in Scene Pot Shape

Date
4411 Rectangular, Wedding procession Amphora frag. 550-500
shallow
5417 Rectangular, Wedding procession Loutrophoros Not listed
shallow
8226 Rectangular, Wedding procession Column krater 550-500
57

shallow
10634 Rectangular, Wedding procession Volute krater 550-500
shallow fragment
12754 Rectangular, Wedding procession Loutrophoros 450-400
shallow frag.
medium depth frag
44026 Rectangular, Wedding procession Neck amphora 525-475
shallow, carried on
head
shallow
301479 Rectangular, Wedding procession Hydria 550-500
shallow
310365 Rectangular, flat Wedding procession Neck amphora 575-525
310370 Rectangular, Wedding procession Amphora B 575-525
shallow
310375 Rectangular, Wedding procession Neck amphora 575-525
shallow
9029957 Rectangular, Wedding Hydria Not listed
medium depth
9029970 Rectangular, Wedding Lekanis lid Not listed
medium depth
III. Symposia. These drinking scenes feature a hanging basket in the
background, generally of the same standard shape and size, and are
featured on drinking vessels that would have been used and are associated
with symposia.

7136 Rounded base, Symposium Cup B 525-475
suspended in
background
9426 Small, rounded Symposium Hydria 500-450
base, suspended in
background
9534 Rounded base, Symposium Cup C 525-475
suspended in
background
13859 Rounded base, Symposium Cup fragment 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
58

19562 Rounded base, Symposium Figure vase 500-450
medium depth, oinochoe
suspended in
background
medium depth, fragment
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
200421 Rounded base, Symposium Cup 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth, wide
mouth
medium depth,
suspended in
background
201684 Rounded base, Symposium Calyx krater 525-475
medium depth, fragments
suspended in
background
59

202693 Rounded base, Symposium Column krater 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
202723 Rounded base, Symposium Hydria 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth, kantharos
suspended in
background
202764 Rounded base Symposium Figure vase 500-450
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
202939 Rounded base, Symposium Stamnos 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
203489 1-Rounded base, Symposium Cup 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background 2
Rounded base,
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
60

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
203907 Rounded base, Symposium Cup fragments 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
61

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth, 3
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
62

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
63

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
213001 Large, rounded Symposium Cup 475-425
base, medium
depth, suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
213698 Rounded base, Symposium Bell krater 475-425
medium depth,
suspended in
background
215067 Rounded base, Symposium Bell krater 450-400
medium depth,
suspended in
background
215151 Rounded base, Symposium Dinos 450-400
medium depth,
suspended in
background
218431 Rounded base, Symposium Figure vase Not listed
suspended in
background
medium depth,
under table on floor

medium depth,
suspended in
background
64

275202 Rounded base, Symposium Volute krater 500-450
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
9009458 Rounded base, Symposium Cup fragment Not listed
suspended in
background

medium depth,
suspended in
background
9029711 Small, narrower at Symposium Cup Not listed
base than mouth,
handle, suspended
in background,
inverted
9029982 Rounded base, Symposium Cup C Not listed
medium depth,
suspended in
background
IV. Serving/carrying food, an addition to these fairly regular hanging baskets
featured in symposia scenes, a flat, circular basket is often depicted being
used for serving and carrying food at these functions.

21146 Circular, wide, very Satyr/maenad serving Calyx krater 400-300
shallow
29128 Circular, wide, very Satyr serving Bell krater 425-375
shallow
41246 Circular, wide, very Serving Pyxis 400-300
shallow
205899 Circular, wide, very Serving Column krater 500-450
shallow
215255 rectangular, very Satyrs/ maenads Dinos 450-400
shallow, small feet serving
65

215284 Rectangular, very Satyrs/maenads serving Bell krater 450-400
shallow
215333 Rectangular, very Serving fruit Hydria 450-400
shallow
215340 Rectangular, very Serving fruit/cakes Hydria 450-400
shallow
215343 Rectangular, very Serving fruit/cakes Pelike 450-400
shallow
215726 Rectangular, very Serving fruit/cakes Hydria 450-400
shallow
217596 Flat base, very Serving Calyx krater 425-375
shallow
218046 Flat base, very Serving fruit Calyx krater 400-300
shallow
218082 Flat base, very Serving fruit Bell krater 400-300
shallow, handle
220523 Rectangular, very Serving/carrying fruits Squat 450-400
shallow Lekythos
250147 Flat base, very Serving Skyphos 450-400
shallow
shallow
260036 Flat base, very Carrying fruit/cakes Bell krater 400-300
shallow, handle
260168 Flat base, very Serving Bell krater 400-300
shallow
260190 Flat base, very Serving Bell krater 400-300
shallow
shallow
9026662 Flat base, very Serving Lekythos Not listed
shallow
V. Domestic. These scenes featuring baskets are, like the previous two
categories, a frequent occurrence, but the shape of the basket depicted is
much more varied. The shapes consist of: the kalathos, typically used to
signify wool-working or to designate a space as characteristically female;
rectangular, shallow baskets identical to those used in funerary contexts
but lacking the tomb or stele of the funerary scenes and thereby placing it
instead in the domestic realm; the rounded base basket which is suspended
66

in the background as in the symposium scenes; the flat, circular basket
seen in the context of serving; as well as a few others, and are categorized
by Beazley as domestic scenes.

7 kalathos Domestic pyxis 425-375
1066 Kalathos Domestic Skyphos Not listed
1460 Narrow base, Domestic Hydria Not listed
widens at mouth,
handle- suspended
in background
2089 kalathos Domestic Pyxis 575-525
7758 Rounded base, Domestic Alabastron 500-450
suspended in
background
8737 A1- Rectangular, Domestic Lebes 450-400
shallow B2-
kalathos UH3-
rectangular, shallow
UH4- kalathos
10146 Rectangular, tall Domestic Skyphos 475-425
10296 Rounded base, Domestic Lekythos 500-450
suspended
10466 Rectangular, Domestic Hydria 400-300
medium depth
11776 Kalathos, suspended Domestic Loutrophoros 500-450

in background frag
12411 Kalathos, inverted Domestic Lebes frag. 450-400
and suspended in
background
12721 Kalathos Domestic Pyxis 400-300
13265 Kalathos Domestic Squat lekythos 500-450
13422 Rectangular, Domestic Squat lekythos 450-400
shallow
13469 Circular, wide, very Domestic Squat lekythos 400-300
shallow
15228 Medium depth, Domestic, cooking Squat lekythos 450-400
handles, feet,
suspended in
background
16873 Kalathos Domestic, wool Lekythos 475-425
working
19720 Rounded base, Domestic, food prep/ Hydria 525-475
medium depth cooking
67

21628 Rectangular, Domestic with erotes Lekanis 400-300
shallow
25061 Rectangular, Domestic, exterior- Neck amphora 450-400
medium depth women with basket,
woman with torches
31825 Kalathos Domestic Lekanis 450-400
fragments
45413 Rectangular, Domestic, woman and Skyphos 425-375
shallow basket sole subject fragment
201720 Kalathos Domestic interior Hydria 500-450
working
202230 Rounded base, Domestic Stamnos 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
202759 Kalathos Domestic Figure vase 500-450
kantharos
203134 Narrower at base Domestic Alabastron 500-450
than mouth,
medium depth,
suspended in
background
203219 Narrower at base Domestic Cup 525-475
than mouth,
medium depth,
suspended in
background

working
204225 Large, rounded Domestic, woman Cup 500-450
base, deep juggling?
204249 Kalathos Domestic, wool Alabastron 500-450
working
204431 Medium depth, Domestic Cup 500-450
handle, feet
204466 Medium depth, Domestic Cup 500-450
square base, handle
205297 Kalathos Domestic Cup 500-450
205361 About as wide as it Domestic Cup 500-450
is tall, thick lip,
handle, three feet
204365 Kalathos with Domestic Cup 500-450
handle
205554 Kalathos Domestic interior, Cup 500-450
68

205650 Kalathos inverted, Domestic Hydria 500-450
suspended in
background
206007 About as wide as it Domestic Pelike 500-450
is tall, thick lip,
handle, three feet
206329 Narrower at base Domestic/ Woman Pelike 500-450
than at mouth, tall, washing clothes
deep
206573 Hourglass shaped, Domestic, wool Hydria 500-450
handle working
207245 Kalathos Domestic, wool Alabastron 475-425
working
207394 Kalathos Domestic Neck amphora 475-425
207439 Tall, vertically Domestic Lekythos 475-425
rectangular, with lid
207602 Rectangular, Domestic Lekythos 475-525
shallow
207640 Kalathos Domestic, wool Neck amphora 475-425
working
207769 Kalathos Domestic Lekythos 475-425
working
working
working
working
208170 Rounded base, wide Domestic Lekythos 475-425
lip, handle, three
feet, suspended in
background
working
208932 Kalathos Domestic Alabastron ~425
working
209103 Narrower at base Domestic Pelike 475-425
than mouth, thick
lip, handle, feet
shallow
shallow, handle
69

209188 Kalathos Domestic Lekythos 475-425
shallow
shallow
209859 Kalathos Domestic Hydria 475-425
210013 Kalathos Domestic Cup fragment 475-425
210116 Wide flat base, Domestic Cup C 475-425
petal-like sides
210139 1- Square, handle, Domestic interior Cup 475-425
three feet,
suspended in
background 2-
kalathos
210164 Rounded base, Domestic, washing Cup 475-425
medium depth, scene
suspended in
background
210168 Rounded base, Domestic Cup 485-425
medium depth,
suspended in
background
211243 Narrower at base Domestic Cup 475-425
than mouth, handle,
three feet
212212 Rectangular, Domestic Cup 475-425
shallow
212444 Rectangular, Domestic Cup 475-425
medium depth
213488 Kalathos Domestic, wool work Hydria 475-425
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
70

shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow
214304 Hourglass shaped, Domestic Lekythos 475-425
handle, three feet
shallow
214393 Hourglass shaped, Domestic Hydria 475-425
handle, three feet
shallow
214979 1- kalathos 2- Domestic Hydria 475-425
shallow fragments
215859 1- kalathos 2- Domestic Lekythos 450-400
215877 Rectangular, flat Domestic Lekythos 450-400
216183 Kalathos Domestic, wool work Hydria 475-425
shallow
shallow
71

217492 Square, medium Domestic, wedding Hydria 425-375
depth
230064 Square, medium Domestic Squat 425-375

depth Lekythos
230076 Square medium Domestic Squat 425-375
depth Lekythos
230117 Square, medium Domestic Squat 425-375
depth Lekythos
230841 Kalathos Domestic Lekanis 400-300
240022 Rectangular, Domestic Oinochoe 425-375
medium depth
shallow
shallow
240051 Square, medium Domestic Oinochoe 425-375
depth
shallow
shallow
working
301676 Rounded base, Domestic, wool Neck amphora 550-500
medium depth working
303419 Rectangular, Domestic Epinetron 550-500
medium depth
303430 Kalathos Domestic interior, wool Epinetron 550-500
working
361435 Rounded base, Domestic Epinetron 525-475
suspended in
background
390395 1- kalathos 2- Domestic Alabastron 525-475
rounded base,
medium depth,
suspended in
background
9024575 Rectangular, Domestic Lekythos Not listed
shallow
shallow
9026663 Rectangular, very Domestic Lekythos Not listed
shallow
shallow
72

shallow
9029957 Rectangular, Domestic, wedding Hydria Not listed
medium depth
9029970 Rectangular, Domestic, wedding Lekanis lid Not listed
medium depth
9034938 Rounded base, Domestic Lekythos Not listed
medium depth,
suspended in
background
VI. Sacrificial. These scenes depict a man or woman holding a fairly standard
shaped basket comprised of a wide flat base, and scalloped or petal-like
sides protruding up from the flat base, over or near an altar. Additional
shapes of basket, such as the shallow rectangular form seen previously in
funerary contexts as well as the circular flat basket utilised for serving or
carrying foods, are also common in these scenes.

239 Rectangular, Sacrificial Hydria 450-400
shallow
491 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Pyxis 450-400
petal-like sides
503 Tall, thick reed Sacrificial Chous 400-300
sides with rim and
feet
1202 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Alabastron 475-425
petal-like sides
2944 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Lekythos 475-425
petal-like sides
4691 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Skyphos 450-400
petal-like sides
7508 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Bell krater Not listed
petal-like sides
7766 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Cup B 500-450
petal-like sides
9485 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Neck amphora 550-500
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
73

14663 Deep, rounded base, Sacrificial Skyphos 525-475
scalloped mouth
edges
15009 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Chous 450-400

petal-like sides fragment
15218 Tall, serpentine Sacrificial Skyphos 450-400
sides with rim and
feet
30320 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Column krater 525-475
petal-like sides
30667 Flat, very shallow Sacrificial Pelike 400-300
petal-like sides fragments
41369 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Bell krater 475-425
petal-like sides
201290 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Cup 525-475
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
204012 About as wide as it Sacrificial Cup 500-450
is tall, thick lip,
handle, three feet
206325 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Pelike 500-450
petal-like sides
206335 Wide flat base, Sacrificial, processoon Pelike 500-450

petal-like sides
206569 Wide flat base, Sacrificial, Hydria 500-450

petal-like sides fragment
206613 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Column krater 500-450

petal-like sides
206706 Wide flat base, Sacrificial? Bird Pelike 500-450
petal-like sides landing on herm phallus
at altar, draped youth
touching herm phallus
206867 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Stamnos 475-425
petal-like sides
207095 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Volute krater 475-425
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
207558 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Oinochoe 475-425
petal-like sides
74

petal-like sides
petal-like sides

petal-like sides
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
209168 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Squat lekythos 475-425
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
209694 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Dish 475-425
petal-like sides
209952 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Kantharos 475-425
petal-like sides
211080 Narrower at base Sacrificial procession Cup 475-425
than mouth, deep
213331 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Phiale 475-425
petal-like sides
215188 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Amphora 450-400
petal-like sides
215220 Rectangular, very Sacrificial Bell krater 450-400
shallow, small feet
215322 Rectangular, very Sacrificial Bell krater 450-400
shallow

petal-like sides
petal-like sides
217473 Flat base, very Sacrificial Bell krater 425-375
shallow
shallow
shallow
shallow, scalloped
sides
217928 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Calyx krater 400-300
scalloped sides
218096 Flat base, shallow, Sacrificial Calyx krater 400-300
scalloped sides
75

220589 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Chous 450-400
petal-like sides
220599 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Squat lekythos 450-400
petal-like sides
220611 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Squat 450-400
petal-like sides Lekythos
230419 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Lebes 400-300
petal-like sides
274069 Flat base, petal-like Sacrificial Lekythos 475-425
sides
275155 Flat base, petal-like Sacrificial Column krater 500-450
sides
275277 Wide flat base, Sacrificial Pelike 500-450
petal-like sides
triangular sides
rounded petal-like
sides
petal-like sides
petal-like sides
1010227 Flat base, scalloped Sacrificial Lekythos Not listed
sides
9031731 Flat base, triangular Sacrificial Lekythos Not listed
sides
VII. Komos/youth. In these scenes, the rounded base basket depicted hanging
in the background as in symposia scenes are noted, along with baskets
fixed with over-the-shoulder straps carried on the back like a pack; smaller
rounded baskets suspended from a staff; handled baskets; handled baskets
with feet; and flat, circular serving baskets. The forms depicted in these
scenes are as varied as the scenes themselves. Like the symposia scenes,
komos scenes are frequently painted on pottery shapes associated with
76

drinking and thus may have been a popular theme for pottery in symposia
themselves.

Date
6956 Rounded base, Komos Cup B Not listed
carried like a bag
6992 Rounded base, Komos Cup B Not listed
carried like a bag
7047 Small, suspended Komos Cup B 475-425
from staff
10147 Rounded base, Komos Chous 475-425
carried like a bag
10879 Small, circular, very Komos Bell krater 400-300
shallow
13019 Rounded base, Komos Amphora B 550-500
handles, suspended
from staff
13456 Square, medium Komos Chous 450-400
depth, worn over
the shoulders like
backpack
depth, worn over
the shoulders like
backpack
21473 Circular, wide, very Komos Youths, one Chous 450-400
shallow holding basket with
food

depth, worn over fragment
the shoulders like
backpack
28783 Rounded base, Komos Cup 525-475
medium depth,
suspended in
background
46922 Rounded base, Komos, basket carried Lekythos 550-500
small, rope-like by dog
strap
201044 Square, medium Komos Cup 525-475
depth
77

medium depth,
suspended in
background
201473 Rounded base, Komos Mug 525-475
medium depth,
suspended in
background
202433 Rounded base, Komos Skyphos 500-450
medium depth, fragments
suspended in
background
203315 Square but slightly Komos Cup 500-450
wider at mouth than
base, suspended by
handle on staff
203325 Wider at mouth than Komos Cup 500-450
base, medium depth
203327 1- Rounded at base, Komos Cup 500-450
medium depth,
carried by rope-like
handles 2-rounded
at base, medium
depth, suspended by
rope like handles in
background
203330§ Rounded base, Komos Cup 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
203474 Rounded base, Komos Cup fragment 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
78

203941 Rounded base, Komos Cup fragments 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
worn over shoulder
like backpack
medium depth,
worn over shoulder
like backpack
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204126 Rounded base, Komos Oinochoe 500-450
medium depth,
lying on ground
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204354 Rounded base, very Komos Cup B 500-450
deep-nearly lifesize-
carried on back over
shoulder
medium depth,
suspended in
background
79

medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204678 Rounded base, Komos Oinochoe 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204679 Rounded base, Komos Cup fragment 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204841 Rounded base, Komos Cup fragments 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
204906 Thinnest in middle, Komos, youth Cup fragment 500-450
bows at mouth and
base, thick lip,
handle, three feet,
suspended in
background
205045 Rounded base, Komos, youth Cup 500-450
medium depth
205358 Rounded base, Komos, Cup 500-450

medium depth,
suspended in
background
206088 Rounded base, Komos Column krater 500-450
medium depth,
suspended in
background
206291 Narrower at base Komos, men with Column krater 500-450
than at mouth, staffs, youth with
possible cut outs for basket
handles
206446 Narrower at mouth Komos, attendant with Column krater 500-450
than base, three feet, lyre, basket
handle
80

208095 Rounded base, Komos, youth with Lekythos 475-425
medium depth, pipes, case and basket
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background
211273 Square, handle, Komos Cup 475-425
three feet
medium depth,
suspended in
background
medium depth,
suspended in
background,
inverted
medium depth
medium depth,
suspended in
background
215146 Rounded base, Komos Stamnos 450-400
medium depth,
suspended in
background
275122 Rounded base, Komos Hydria 525-475

medium depth,
suspended in
background
81

VIII. Agricultural. Farming and vintage baskets do not follow a standard shape
but are all much larger and deeper than the baskets of the previous
categories. Used to carry fruits, vegetables from the fields, in many
examples we find the depiction of the treading of grapes by satyrs, and
therefore these baskets needed to be not only larger but likely sturdier as
well.

Date
3065 Tall, wide, narrower Agricultural Lekythos 525-475
in middle
14921 Rounded base, Agriculture Skyphos 550-500
medium depth, wide fragments
circular mouth
23646 Medium depth, Agriculture, among Skyphos cup 525-475
wide mouth, tapers fruit trees
to base
29583 Large, very deep, Agriculture, satyr Column krater 500-450
wide mouth, tapers treading grapes in
to base basket
202429 Large, rounded Agricultural, satyr at Oinochoe 500-450
base, deep, wide basket with grapes
mouth
205648 Large, rounded Agriculture, women Hydria 500-450
base, deep, wide picking fruit basket on
mouth ground
205809 Rounded base, wide Agriculture, satyrs Column krater 500-450
mouth, medium carrying grapes
depth, carried
205877 Large, rounded Agriculture, women Column krater 500-450
base, deep, wide picking fruit basket on
mouth ground
206721 Rounded base, wide Agriculture, women Hydria 500-450
mouth, handle picking fruit, holding
basket
212500 Square, handle, Agriculture, woman Skyphos 475-425
three feet with basket next to tree,
picking fruits
82

214606 Rounded base, Agricultural, satyrs Column krater 475-425
medium depth, wide treading grapes
mouth
215533 Large, rounded Agricultural, satyrs Column krater 450-400
base, wide mouth treading grapes
275087 Large, flat base, Agricultural, satyr Bell krater 525-475
wide mouth treading grapes
275087 Large, flat base, Agricultural, satyr Bell krater 525-475

wide mouth treading grapes
301819 Rounded base, deep Agricultural, picking Hydria 550-500
fruit
302763 Large, rounded Agricultural, satyrs Neck amphora 550-500

base, wide mouth, treading grapes
two loop handles
302815 Rounded base, deep Agricultural, ploughing Cup 550-500
fields
302907 Large, rounded Agricultural, picking Cup A 550-500
base, wide mouth grapes
303359 Large, rounded Agricultural? Bulls, Chous 550-500
base, wide mouth, plants
suspended in
background
305454 Round, almost Agricultural? Woman Lekythos 525-475
completely circular seated by tree
305476 Large, rounded Agricultural? Woman Neck amphora 525-475
base, wide mouth seated by tree
310451 Flat base, wide Agricultural, satyrs Amphora A 575-525
mouth, large trading grapes
320060 Small, flat base, Agricultural, youth Neck amphora 550-500
wide mouth, small beneath olive tree
handle
320127 Small, rounded Agricultural, youth Neck amphora 550-500
base, wide mouth, beneath olive tree
small handle
330578 Large, rounded Agricultural, satyr Oinochoe 550-500
base, wide mouth carrying basket among
grapevines
340504 Large, wide mouth Agricultural, satyrs Amphora A 550-500
picking/trading grapes
340840 Large, shallow, Agricultural, satyrs Oinochoe 525-475
wide mouth, small picking/trading grapes
handles
350468 Large, shallow, Agricultural, satyrs Amphora B 550-500
wide mouth, small picking/trading grapes
handles
83

351459 Large, rounded Agricultural, satyrs Lekythos 525-475
base, wide mouth, trading grapes
small handles
IX. Hunting/ fishing. The use of nets and baskets in hunting and fishing is
vital, and though there is not an overwhelming number of iconographic
examples of this basket function, their necessity is underscored by literary
sources.

Date
23627 Rounded base, Hunter with basket bag Skyphos 475-425
deep, worn over the and club
shoulders like
backpack
200915 Rounded base, Youth carrying fishing Cup 525-475
medium depth, net/basket sole subject
attached to end of
carrying stick
200941 Two baskets with Youth carrying fishing Cup fragment 525-475
rounded bases, net/basket sole subject
medium depth,
attached to ends of
carrying stick
206331 1-Round, almost Fishing, man with rod Pelike 500-450
circular, handle 2- and fish, holding
rounded but basket. Youth with
suspended on pole basket on pole
X. Impression and replica baskets
Lastly, in addition to the depictions of baskets on painted pottery, a small
selection of clay vessels moulded to imitate baskets either through pressing clay to
the inside of a basket creating the impression of the reeds, or through added paint
to imitate the woven designs of the baskets themselves.
84

1003059 N/A N/A Basket with handle Geometric
1003558 N/A N/A kalathos Not listed
1005949 N/A N/A Sacrificial basket Not listed
1006688 N/A N/A Basket with handle, Geometric
painted
9014023 N/A N/A Basket, no handle, Geometric
impression
9015376 N/A N/A Basket with handle, Geometric
painted
9024082 N/A N/A Basket with handle Not listed
painted
9026060 N/A N/A Basket no handle, Geometric
painted
impression
9034280 N/A N/A Basket, two small Not listed
handles either side
85

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College of Humanities and Social Science

Graduate School of History, Classics and

A Basket Case Study: Attic Basketry from

Figure 2: Red-figure amphora, Cambridge, Harvard University, Arthur M. Sackler

Figure 3: White ground Lekythos, Sabouroff Painter, Toronto, Royal Ontario

Figure 6: Red-figure cup, Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig: BS440,

Figure 8: Red-figure pelike, Berlin, Antikensammlung: F2171. BAPD: 206706

Figure 13: Fig. 13 Red-figure askos, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford:

Figure 15: Red-figure pelike sides A & B, Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum,

Figure 18: Black-figure amphora type B, Basel, Antikenmuseum, Basel und

Figure 19: Black-figure Lekythos. Syracuse, Museo Arch. Regionale

BAPD= Beazley Archive Pottery Database

archaeological approaches to artisans in classical Athens prove valuable. The literary

first, the physical remains of workshops, and secondly, iconographic studies of

production. An inventory of excavated workshops in Attica and the Peloponnese has

been laboriously compiled by G.M. Sanidas3; but these are overwhelmingly

therefore very little evidence of these products survive.4 However, occasionally,

wickerwork is preserved indirectly, for example as an imprint in clay, which can

That brings us to the issue of depictions of artisans on these vases. It is worth

deal with scenes of production—metallurgy, ceramic workers, sculptors, carpenters,

To do so, this dissertation undertakes a thorough study of the literary sources

Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum may be added.8 However, more is known about

The structure of the dissertation is as follows. Chapter 1 constitutes a literature

uses of baskets documented in everyday Athenian life. This is fine-tuned in chapter 3,

morphology of Athenian basketry and its representation in Athenian visual culture.

Athenian households as well as their usage in several specific occupations, such as

baskets in the economy. Chapter 5 attempts to reconstruct the production of baskets

by interpreting our (rather meagre) written sources by using both a comparative

I include a table organizing the iconographic evidence I collected in order to present

the salient information without becoming bogged down by repetitive description.

within the archaeological record of antiquity, with the exception of Egyptian

of their existence. Fortunately, however, fibre and wickerwork can occasionally be

preserved indirectly as an imprint in mud or clay.12 In that regard, an important article

discusses the technicalities of two types of skeuomorphs, distinguishing between

basket, resulting in an imprint of the wickerwork crosshatching on the surface of the

provenanced as follows: Athens- 4, Anavyssos- 3, Kallithea- 1, Laurion- 1, Merenda-

3, Thorikos- 116. The geographically restricted distribution suggests this method of

not exceed the boundaries of Attica.

sources and their depictions on painted pottery.

II. Textual sources

alphabetical order, followed by the contextual discussion.

ἄρριχος, ‘wicker basket.’ This seems to be a relatively rare term. It appears in

play. Nevertheless, the reference suggests the multi-purpose function of baskets.

Theophrastus (CP 1.7.2) mentions growing plants in hanging arrhichoi, whilst

for multi-purpose baskets.

in a rather confusing fragment of Aristophanes (fr. 226 K-A = Poll. 10.158): εἰ µὴ

δικῶν τε γυργαθοὺς ψηφισµάτων τε θωµοὺς φέροντες, ‘unless they’re carrying

unintelligible without further context. The other classical-era reference to a gurgathos

metaphorically to illustrate the web’s mesh-like construction.

indication whether it is a basket or sack. A very Disney’s Fantasia-like fragment of

woven, flexible basket is not clear.

κάλαθος, ‘basket narrow at base’; καλαθίσκος (diminutive). This kind of basket is

in Aristophanes. In Lysistrata 535, Lysistrata, Calonice and Myrrhine mention a veil,

dance called the kalathiskos, which Athenaeus discusses further at 14.630a.

laden donkey to a sacrificial basket containing all the required paraphernalia: ἓν

Perikeiromene 997; Samia 222).

In Menander’s Epitrepontes (439) the character Habrotonon makes a joke that

procession (a role restricted to virgins). The role of κανήφορος, a basket-bearer in a

virginity by the tyrant Hipparchus, leading to his assassination by Harmodius and

connotation of the term kanoun, which never seems to be employed outside a

κανίσκιον, a diminutive of κάνεον. We have only one attestation of this term, in a

purpose basket. Pollux (Onom. 10.180) preserves a fragment of Aristophanes’ lost

Rhizotomoi, or Root Cutters (fr. 534 TrGF) preserved in Macrobius’ Saturnalia