Magna Graecia, South Italy, Apulian, ca. mid 4th century BCE. A sizeable bell krater decorated via the red-figure technique. On Side A is a Greek warrior holding the reigns of his horse and facing a seated lyre player. Side B features a trio of draped male figures standing in profile and appearing as if in conversation, the central one holding a walking stick. In addition to this iconography, the vessel is adorned by a laurel leaf wreath beneath the rim, bands of ovalo surrounding each handle's termini, and bands of Greek key (meander) underscoring the figural scenes. Size: 11.625" W handlespan x 11.25" H (29.5 cm x 28.6 cm)

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.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#133232

Repaired from numerous pieces with indeterminate amount of new clay due to overpainting of primarily brown areas. Overall brown coloring due to misfiring.