From Aphrodite to Eros: Mythology on the Greek Vases in the National Collection

• The National Museum of Archaeology, houses a collection of black and red-figure wares. When Ġian Franġisk Abela, a pioneer in collecting antiquities, bequeathed his collection to the Jesuits in 1637, he mentioned, among other items, four clay vases painted in black and red. Later, Jean Houël documented some of these Greek vases in his illustrated book 'Voyage pittoresque des isles de Sicile, de Malte et de Lipari'. published in 1782. As the caption of the image indicates, these vases seem to have been on display at the Grand Master's Palace, together with other items which once belonged to Ġ.F. Abela.

Antonio Annetto Caruana also documented these vases in 1882 ' Report on Phoenician and Roman Antiquities in the Group of the Islands of Malta'. While referring to Houël's earlier  drawings, he states that in the Museum of the Public Library collection ''there are seven polished Greek vases of elegant form on which are correctly drawn subjects of Greek mythology''. In his 1899 publication 'Ancient pottery from the ancient pagan tombs and Christian cemeteries in the Islands of Malta'. Caruana also produced illustrations by the renowned painter of the late 19th century Giuseppe Calì, citing that some of them were found in a tomb under the foundations of a house near Saura Hospital outside Mdina. Further investigations will need to be carried out to ascertain the provenance of the Greek vases in the collection, although there are records of some donations by private individuals to the museum along the years.