The kalpis published here was found in 1961 in Piraeus Street. The scene depicted on the body of the vase comprises four young women. The principal person, around whom the representation is organised, is a woman seated on a chair. She wears a chiton and a himation, has a diadem on her head and her two hands hold a larnax on her knees. The other three women are standing. They are dressed in pepla and the two on the right also wear diadems. The one standing in front of her holds an exaleiptron. High up in the background above the head of the seated woman hangs a wreath. The artistic style recalls Polygnotos and a comparison with his other works dates our kalpis to the decade 450–440 BC, in his early period. The graffito on the mouth of the vase, ON…I, is a known trade mark and probably concerns its price. The scene, which is set in a gynaeceum, is interpreted as the adornment of a bride, and is one of the earliest such representations known. It was probably inspired by wall painting. The Piraeus Street kalpis has now answered the question of the origin of this type of gynaeceum scene, which must be ascribed to Polygnotos himself and not to one of the artists of his Group.
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