Magna Graecia, South Italy, Apulia, ca. 340 to 300 BCE. A gorgeous pottery oinochoe featuring a trefoil spout, a corseted neck, and an egg-shaped body, all sitting upon an applied, discoid foot. A lovely ribbon-form handle connects the spout to the shoulder. Decorated in the red-figure technique, the body of the ancient vessel is adorned with a large panel of Dionysus (Roman Bacchus), the Greek god of wine, fertility, and religious ecstasy. The youthful deity is shown leaning to his left as he holds a circular platter in his left hand and a tambourine or wreath in his right. A flowered crown sits atop his thick head of hair, as he stands nude and holds the platter outwards, as if giving an offering of some kind. Exhibiting a lean body and muscular limbs, he looks upwards, appearing to bite his lip while smiling coyly. The figure is flanked by a pair of flowers as an additional floral motif decorates the field and a lovely border with an undulating design embellishes the neck. Size: 5" in diameter x 6.625" H (12.7 cm x 16.8 cm)

The base presents a carved pottery mark in the form of a swastika - a common motif in Greek pottery - and a painted "X." Alas, the meanings of these marks are now unknown and largely lost on the modern viewer.

Virtually no ancient Greek paintings have survived the tests of time. This makes the painted compositions found on ceramic vessels like this example invaluable sources of information about ancient Greek visual art. Refined vases like this amphora were not merely utilitarian pottery, but rather works of art in their own right, highly prized throughout the classical world. Red figure pieces in particular allowed for the development of more naturalistic imagery than black figure examples. This innovative technique involved creating figures by outlining them in the natural red of the vase, making it possible for the painter to then enrich the figural forms with black lines to suggest volume, perspectival depth, and movement, bringing those silhouettes and their environs to life. Beyond this, fugitive pigments made it possible for the artist to create additional layers of interest and detail.

Perhaps the most exciting innovation in Greek vase painting was the red-figure technique, invented in Athens around 525 BCE and beloved by other artists of Magna Graecia. The red-figure technique allowed for much greater flexibility as opposed to the black-figure technique, for now the artist could use a soft, pliable brush rather than a rigid metal graver to delineate interior details, play with the thickness of the lines, as well as build up or dilute glazes to create chromatic effects. The painter would create figures by outlining them in the natural red of the vase, and then enrich these figural forms with black lines to suggest volume, at times perspectival depth, and movement, bringing those silhouettes and their environs to life. Beyond this, fugitive pigments made it possible for the artist to create additional layers of interest and detail as we see on the youth's diadem in this example.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Texas, USA estate, acquired in the 2000s or earlier

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#164574

Repaired from at least 3 pieces with restoration and repainting over break lines. Some chips to rim and restoration to periphery of base. Light nicks and scratches, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with nice remaining pigments and gorgeous iridescence.