The eloquent beauty of the vases produced in the workshops of the ancient Greeks is represented by a selection of pieces from the superb private collection of Molly and Walter Bareiss that spans more than a thousand years of the craft. From a delightful miniature stirrup vase dating ca. 1300 B.C. to prime examples of the molded vases from Augustan Rome, the Bareiss collection includes a splendid representative collection, guided by a sure instinct for the unique beauty of design and drawing. Assembled in this brief catalogue are illustrated discussions of forty-seven of the masterpieces from the 258 vases currently on loan to the Getty Museum. Dietrich von Bothmer, Chairman of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, introduces this most important collection, one with which he has been intimately involved since its conception, advising, studying, interpreting, and even piecing together shattered vases. Following the individual catalogue entries is a full checklist of an additional 205 vases that are on loan to the Getty Museum.

Museum Documentation Systems

The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 4 is a compendium of articles and notes pertaining to the Museum’s permanent collections of decorative arts. This volume includes an introduction and two articles by Gillian Wilson, Curator of Decorative Arts. Volume 4 also features articles by Jiří Frel, the Museum’s Curator of Antiquities; Edith Standen, Curatorial Consultant, Department of Western European Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; Geraldine Hussman, California State University at Northridge; Jean-Luc Bordeaux, Professor of Art History and Director of the Fine Arts Gallery, California State University at Northridge; and Faya Causey, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Writing at the time of political and social crisis in Athens, Aristophanes was an eloquent yet bawdy challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. The Achanians is a plea for peace set against the background of the long war with Sparta.