Greece, Athens (Attic), Kerch type, Group G, ca. 350 to 330 BCE. Made for the Greek colony of Panticapaeum, on the Kerch Strait in Ukraine. A fabulous pelike of a sophisticated form with a piriform body resting atop a squat foot. The tapered neck rises to the collared, funnel-form rim and has a pair of handles conjoining the rim to the shoulder. The obverse features an Arimasp wearing a barbarian costume with leggings and a pelta beneath his knee as he struggles to rise to his feet while battling two winged griffins. The reverse shows two himation-wearing figures standing with a stele between them, the left holding a circular object in one hand, perhaps a shield. In Greek mythology, griffins lived far to the north and guarded large deposits of gold. They were in constant conflict with the Arimasps, a tribe of one-eyed people, who regularly tried to steal the gold. Although literary sources describe the Arimasps as cyclopean peoples, visual artists did not follow this convention and instead depicted them in simple barbarian costumes. Size: 7.125" W x 11.6" H (18.1 cm x 29.5 cm)

Published: J. Eisenberg, 1000 Years of Ancient Greek Vases II, 2010, no. 105.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: ex-Royal Athena Gallery, New York, New York, USA; ex-private Vakilli collection, Paris, France, bought on the London art market in 2003

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#165074

Rim repaired from a few large pieces, with resurfacing and overpainting along break lines. Abrasions and light fading to original pigment, with one firing cloud inside of rim and neck. Fantastic preservation to figural and zoomorphic decorations, and nice craquelure to areas of black glaze across exterior.