Greek Apulian Red Figure Hydria, Ladies of Fashion

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 24, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-03-24 10:00:00 2022-03-24 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-9057
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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Magna Graecia, South Italy, Apulian, ca. 4th century BCE. A magnificent pottery hydria, meticulously hand-painted with red-figure technique of 2 ladies of fashion. Boasting lustrous black glaze on a red ground with white and orange fugitive paints, the stately vessel possesses a graceful presentation with a voluminous body, a dramatically sloped shoulder, a narrow neck, and a broad, flared rim, all sitting upon a discoid, pedestal foot. A pair of upward-swooping handles flank the body, both lying just below the shoulder edge. One side of the ancient hydria boasts a luxurious scene of 2 confronting ladies dressed lavishly, each draped in a flowing peplos comprised of cascading billows of rich fabric that highlight their slender figures. The woman on the left wears a himation over her peplos as she leans slightly inward and raises a crescent-shaped fan with both hands before her companion who steps toward her, holding out a lengthy sash in her right hand and a shallow dish behind her, in her left. Size: 9" Diameter x 12" H (22.9 cm x 30.5 cm)
  
  An additional sash hangs behind the woman holding the fan. The epitome of opulence; both ladies are elaborately embellished by bracelets, arm bands, necklaces, earrings, fillets, and hair adornments. A petite eye design floats in the air between the 2 females - eyes were commonly painted on Greek vessels to serve an apotropaic function. The scene is flanked by a horizontal band of stopped meander motif below them and a horizontal register of laurel leaves above. Vertical striations further decorate the periphery of the rim.
  
  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.
  
  Cf. Beazley Archive at University of Oxford, 554 and 6260.
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Virginia, USA collection, acquired in the 1990s
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #170402

  Condition

  Body intact with stable fissure. Repair to 1 handle with restoration over break lines. Minor chip to rim. Expected nicks and scratches, commensurate with age. Fading to black glaze on verso. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive remaining pigments and detail. Old collection labels on underside of foot.
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