Boston Painter Fish Plate

Boston Painter Fish PlateRed Figure Fish Plate after the Painter of Boston, MFA Boston Inspired by a superb South Italian fish plate in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (attributed to the Painter of Boston, ca. 340320 BCE), this red figure dish captures the Late Classical taste for painted seafood menus. In the tondo, two striped fishrendered with lively spiny dorsal finscircle the central depression, accompanied by a curling octopus. Fine details are picked out with added

Red Figure Fish Plate - after the “Painter of Boston”, MFA Boston

Inspired by a superb South Italian fish plate in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (attributed to the Painter of Boston, ca. 340–320 BCE), this red-figure dish captures the Late Classical taste for painted seafood “menus.” In the tondo, two striped fish—rendered with lively spiny dorsal fins—circle the central depression, accompanied by a curling octopus. Fine details are picked out with added yellowish-white, enhancing the sense of texture and sheen.

A standing wave pattern runs around the overhanging rim, framing the scene like a band of sea-water. The underside follows the ancient scheme with broad gloss on the exterior and foot, echoing the functional elegance of the original.

Handmade in Athens in September 2025, this piece is a faithful homage to a celebrated museum prototype: MFA Boston, 2001.178 (Gift in memory of Emily Dickinson Townsend Vermeule; Vase-Painting in Italy (MFA), Catalogue Raisonné, no. 051).

Dimensions: D 16,8 cm, H 5,0 cm