The Comast Group (also Komast Group) was a group of

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

vase painters in the

black-figure style Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of Ancient Greek vase painting, painting on pottery of ancient Greece, antique Greek vases. It was especially common bet ...

. The works of its members are dated to between 585 and 570/560 BC. The artists of the Komast Group are seen as the successors of the

Gorgon Painter The Gorgon Painter was one of the early Attic black-figure vase painters. He was active between 600 and 580 BC. His name vase, ''Dinos of the Gorgon Painter'', is currently on display in the Louvre and depicts Perseus fleeing the Gorgons. The Go ...

. Its most important representatives were the KX Painter and the slightly later KY Painter. They painted vases shapes that had been newly introduced to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

or that had not previously been painted. Especially commonly painted by them were '’ kothon’’ and '' lekanis''. From

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, then still the centre of Greek vase painting, they adopted the

Komast cup The Komast cup (also Comast cup) is a cup shape at the beginning of the development of Attic drinking cups. Komast cups were widespread especially in Ionia and Corinth. Like other vase painters of the time, the Attic painters were under strong in ...

and the ''

skyphos A ''skyphos'' ( grc, σκύφος; plural ''skyphoi'') is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim (in both Corinthian and Athenian shapes), or they ma ...

'' (known as '' kotyle''. The KY Painter introduced the

column krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...

. Also popular at the time was the ''

kantharos A ''kantharos'' ( grc, κάνθαρος) or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In i ...

''. The group adopted the Corinthian habit of depicting komasts, after which the group is named. It provided the group’s most commonly painted motif. The komast scenes permit Attic artists for the first time to reach the artistic levels of middle-ranking

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

vases. While the older KX Painter still mostly painted animals and only the occasional komast scene, the ''komos'' became a standard motif for the KY painter and further inferior successors. It is not clear to what extent the painters of the group really cooperated. It is possible that they all worked in the same workshop. The group influenced later Attic vase painters, including the

Heidelberg Painter The Heidelberg Painter (conventional name) was an Attic vase painter of the black-figure style, active between about 575 and 555 BC. He is considered one of the most important painters of Siana cups. Along with the C Painter, he is considered th ...

. Works by the Komast Group were not only found in Attica, but appear to have been exported widely. Vases and fragments have been found at many sites, including

Naukratis Naucratis or Naukratis (Ancient Greek: , "Naval Command"; Egyptian: , , , Coptic: ) was a city and trading-post in ancient Egypt, located on the Canopic (western-most) branch of the Nile river, south-east of the Mediterranean sea and the city ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

, Central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, Taras, and even

Bibliography

John Beazley Sir John Davidson Beazley, (; 13 September 1885 – 6 May 1970) was a British classical archaeologist and art historian, known for his classification of Attic vases by artistic style. He was Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the Un ...

: ''Attic Black-figure Vase-painters''. Oxford 1956, p. 23–37. * John Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen. Ein Handbuch'', von Zabern, 4. edn, Mainz 1994 ( Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt, Vol 1) , p. 19. {{Greek vase painters, state=collapsed Anonymous artists of antiquity Ancient Greek vase painters