In 1844-5 a Florentine archaeologist, Alessandro François, was excavating the old Etruscan settlement of Vulci, near Chiusi in Italy. In a tomb he found fragments of a wonderful krater, smashed long before by grave robbers.

The fragments were painstakingly reconstructed and the vase named after its discoverer, although it had been signed (twice) by both its potter, Ergotimos, and painter, Kleitias. The François Vase is the earliest known Attic krater of this type, made at a time when Attic pottery was overtaking Corinthian, both at home and abroad, and it is possible that it was made as a demonstration piece to impress Etruscan buyers.

Another possibility, suggested by the scenes of marriage and family, is that the vase was commissioned for a wedding - where its prominent display would have served as good advertising for Attic pottery.

François Vase:
Location: Museo Archeologico, Florence

Date: c.570 B.C.E. (archaic period)

Painter: Kleitias

Potter: Ergotimos

Shape: volute krater

Size: 66cm

Technique: black figure

Function: mixing bowl for wine and water.

Stylistic Features

Corinthian Influence:
division into seven friezes or zones,
oriental elements including sphinxes and griffins,
frieze of animals and floral/plant elements,
miniature figures (6cm-12cm),
inscriptions naming 121 of the 270 figures. Boustrophedon style where the writing goes in either direction, some left to right, some right to left.

Innovations:
strong emphasis on narrative (storytelling) rather than simple decoration,
greater elegance and animation of figures

Conventions of Black Figure:
silhouettes filled in with slip,
added colour, including white for female flesh, some drapery, a couple of horses and the dog (now almost entirely worn away) on the back of the Kalydonian boar; purple on some drapery; red on some men's faces.
incision for hair, internal details of anatomy and ornate patterns on some clothing.

Figures:
small-scale, silhouette figures.
pose often has profile head (but with frontal eye); frontal torso and profile legs and feet (cf. Egyptian frieze figures).
incision of anatomical detail is delicate and precise, showing an accurate knowledge of major muscle groups.
attempts to suggest texture with smooth human hair and the spiky bristles of the boar.
attempts to show movement: one foot in front of the other; raised and outstretched legs suggest running; joined hands for dancers.
emotion suggested by gestures such as raised hands.
movement and gesture lively and active in most scenes; restrained and dignified in the wedding procession.

Drapery:
stiff, flat and foldless, hiding the body rather than revealing it.
some use of incised decorative patterns.

Depth:
attempts to suggest space or depth by overlapping figures and some twisting figures.

Themes and Connections
Although there are no clearly established links between the different friezes, many of them are connected by theme and/or subject. The main frieze, which encircles body of the vase, shows a wedding: Peleus, the groom, also appears among the hunters of the Kalydonian boar; Thetis, his bride, brought up Hephaistos, whose return to Olympos is shown on Side B; their son, Achilles, chases Troilus on Side A, and his dead body is carried by Ajax on the handles. The funeral games on Side A are in honour of Achilles' dear friend Patroklos, killed by the Trojan Hektor.
Other scenes are linked by the Athenian hero, Theseus: the top frieze on Side B shows his return with the celebrating youths and maidens, rescued from the clutches of the Minotaur, while immediately below he joins his friend Perithoös in the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. According to legend he and Perithoös were also among those who hunted the Kalydonian boar.