fish plates (ancient dishes)
- Scope note
- Plates of a special form used by the ancient Greeks, having a central depression and sometimes a turned-down rim, used for serving fish. The central depression was used to collect the juice or sauce in which the fish was served. Such fish plates may be made of stone, ceramic, or another material. They may be decorated with highly accurate representations of fish and other marine life. They were popular in Greece and its colonies in South Italy from the 4th century BCE. Athenian painters always oriented the bellies of the fish toward the rim of the plate while southern Italian painters positioned them with the bellies towards the center. Some fish plates have depictions of seafood arranged around a central dip for sauce. Androkydes of Kyzikos was one of the few fish plate painters to sign his work.
- Date of creation: 18-Nov-2024
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024