Ancient Greek Pottery Attic Red figured column krater by the Florence Painter. TL test. Masterpiece.

Column krater attributed to the Florence painter, depicting Dionisos on a mule and two Satyrs. - Thermoluminescence test attached - Attica Greece, ca. 470's-460's B. C. Pottery. PROVENANCE: Private collection, London. Acquired on the art market in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. CONDITION: Overall good condition. Restored from 5 large fragments with restoration over breaklines. There are no new fragments and the vase is complete. DIMENTIONS: 38 cm (height) x 35,3 cm (diameter) . DOCUMENTS: With a positive thermoluminescence test, Certificate of Authenticity and export license issued by the Ministry of Culture. DESCRIPTION: Attic red-figured column krater by the Florence Painter. The A-side with dancing satyr behing the figureof Dionysos, diding a mule holding a rython in her right hand, on front of him there is another nude Satyr playing a double aulos flute, a band of elongated lotus bud chain on the neck; the B-side with a standing draped youth on either side of a standing draped woman; with a band of lotus bud chain on the upper surface of the rim, the scenes framed by a vertical double bands of ivy, a band of tongue above. The Florence Painter: Athenian red-figure vase-painter whose name is unknown, active in Athens arround 470's-460's BC. Nevertheless consistent individual characteristics of style suggest the existence of a unique artistic personality. Beazley called him the Florence Painter (a shortened form of the name he originally gave him: Painter of the Florence Centauromachy) after a vase in Florence. He specialised in decorating kraters and was close to the Boreas Painter. Many other vases have been attributed to his hand on the basis of style. Kraters and red figures on greek art: The krater is a type of Greek pottery used to mix water and wine and from which cups were filled. It was moved to the space were a meal was to be eaten and was placed either on the ground or on a dais and the steward in charge of drawing the wine used a ladle to pour it into the guests’ cups. Kraters were mostly pottery, but some were made from precious metals, and were made in a variety of shapes according to the taste of the artist, although they did always have a wide mouth. The most widely occurring ones are column kraters, calyx kraters, bell kraters and volute ones. Red-figure pottery was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek production. It developed in Athens around 530 BC and was used until the 3rd Century AD. In the space of a few decades it took over the place of the previous dominant style of black-figure pottery. The technical base was the same in both cases but in red-figure pottery the colouring is reversed so that the figures stand out on a dark background as if they were lit up in a more natural way. The painters who did black-figure work were forced to keep the motifs they painted well apart one from the other and to limit their complexity. In contrast, the red-figure technique gave much greater liberty. Each figure was silhouetted against a black background, allowing the painters to portray anatomical details with greater accuracy and variety. The technique consisted of painting the motifs on the vessels while they were still unfired using a transparent slip, which when fired took on a black coloration. In this manner the motifs were invisible before firing so that the painters had to work from memory without seeing their earlier work. Once the piece had been fired the zones which had not been covered by the slip retained the red colouring of the clay while the glossy areas, those that had been “painted, acquired a dense, brilliant black colour. Notes: The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki. - The piece includes authenticity certificate. - The piece includes Spanish Export License. - The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.