Attic Pottery Kylix w/ Nude & Robed Figures, Ex Arte

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Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine A...

By Artemis Gallery

Nov 16, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-11-16 10:00:00 2023-11-16 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-14161
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Nautical, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Athens / Attic, ca. 5th to 4th century BCE. An exemplary pottery kylix adorned in red-figure decoration of a nude athlete in discussion with a bearded, robed man in the central tondo and the exterior walls with additional nude and robed figures. At the center, the athlete stands in contrapposto with one hand on his hip as he raises a strigil in his right hand and faces the bearded man, who leans on a cane and holds out one hand toward the athlete. A bulbous oil aryballos is shown between them, and all is surrounded by a staggered meander motif border. The exterior walls feature 2 groups of 3 men, each including a central nude athlete who also holds a strigil flanked by 2 men in draped garments, one with a beard. A pattern of palmettes divide the scenes, adorning the area beneath each up-turned handle. Size: 9.5" L x 12.8" W x 4.1" H (24.1 cm x 32.5 cm x 10.4 cm)
  
  Perhaps the most exciting innovation in Greek vessel 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.
  
  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 dishes like this kylix were not merely utilitarian pottery, but rather works of art in their own right, highly prized throughout the classical world.
  
  According to the Walter's Museum of Art, "Kylikes were the most common form of drinking vessel in ancient Greece. The exterior was often elaborately decorated, while the tondo in the center was revealed after the contents of the cup were consumed (the scenes were sometimes amusing as well as artistic) ...At the end of a symposium, the reveler might have used this kylix to participate in a game of kottabos, which involved flinging the dregs of his wine from his cup at a target."
  
  Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection acquired before 2000; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York, New York, USA, December 9th, 2015, lot 190; ex-private Southwest, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA; ex-London art market, acquired in the 1970s
  
  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.
  
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  #178916

  Condition

  Professionally repaired and restored with repainting in some areas. Some minor nicks and abrasions commensurate with age. Nice presentation with good remaining detail. Old Arte Primitivo collection label on base.
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