Asteas-Python Fish Plate

Asteas-Python Fish PlateRed Figure Fish Plate Faithful Reproduction from the Asteas Python Workshop, Boston MFA This elegant fish plate is a faithful reproduction of a South Italian original made in Paestum in the AsteasPython circle, dating to around 350330 BC (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, inv. no. 1988. 1120). The interior shows a lively sea menu: three fish arranged around the central depression, accompanied by a small shrimp prawn. One fish is painted with a pronounced

Red Figure Fish Plate – Faithful Reproduction from the Asteas-Python Workshop, Boston MFA

This elegant fish plate is a faithful reproduction of a South Italian original made in Paestum in the Asteas–Python circle, dating to around 350–330 BC (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, inv. no. 1988.1120).

The interior shows a lively “sea menu”: three fish arranged around the central depression, accompanied by a small shrimp/prawn. One fish is painted with a pronounced spiny dorsal fin (evoking Mediterranean scorpionfish types), while the other two are rendered with streamlined bodies and carefully articulated fins. The painter builds volume with streaky dilute glaze, sharpened by incised details and crisp added white highlights on the fins, tails, mouths, and gills.

At the center, concentric circles frame the depression, while the rim is finished with a tidy dotted band and fine bordering lines—details characteristic of Late Classical fish plates from Magna Graecia.

A timeless design that brings the wit, realism, and refined craftsmanship of ancient Greek dining culture into a contemporary setting.

Dimensions  H: 5.0 cm, Max D: 23.5 cm