Apulian Red Figure Bell Krater - Maenad & Satyr

About Auction

Live

Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 4, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-06-04 10:00:00 2020-06-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-5185
An important one-day auction featuring museum-worthy examples of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine Art, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (393)

• Lot Description
  Magna Graecia, Apulian, ca. 4th century BCE. A beautiful red figure bell krater - a vessel used to mix wine and water to serve at a symposium - with an inverted bell-shaped body, twin upraised handles, and a pedestal foot. Decorated with added/fugitive white and yellow slip, the red figure scene presents followers of Dionysus. Side A, the obverse, includes a nude male Satyr figure standing and holding a pail and a large plant stalk (thyrsos). He has a wreath in his hair, perhaps identifying him as a victorious athlete. Facing him is a young Maenad wearing a flowing chiton and offering him a patera. On Side B, the reverse, the artist painted a couple of conversing draped youths, one holding a staff. Below both scenes is a register of a geometric Greek key motif, and above (below the rim) is a band a laurel leaves. A wonderful Apulian bell krater with an impressive red figure iconographic/decorative program - and imbuing the vessel with even more beauty, is a marvelous silvery iridescence that has developed on the black-glazed areas. Size: 11" in diameter x 10.75" H (27.9 cm x 27.3 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. Beyond this, fugitive pigments made it possible for the artist to create additional layers of interest and detail as we see in this example.
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex John and Jane Stubbs American Collection, acquired 1990 to 2000s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #155727

  Condition

  The foot has been expertly repaired and restored from multiple pieces; otherwise the vessel is in excellent condition. Beautiful preservation of motifs with silvery iridescence on black surfaces.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %