Bottle for ointments; Magna Graecia, Apulia, 4th
Ointment bottle; Magna Graecia, Apulia, 4th century BC.
Black-figured pottery.
Provenance: Private collection Philadelphia, USA.
Size: 9.5 x 5.5 cm.
The piece we present here shows a geometric decoration in the form of a net that is arranged on the belly of the vessel. It also has decoration based on bands on the mouth and foot made with the black-figure technique, based on the use of a transparent varnish which, when fired, acquired an intense, shiny black hue. The motifs were therefore invisible before firing, which meant that the painters had to work entirely from memory, unable to see their previous work. Once the piece was fired, the unglazed areas remained with the reddish hue of the clay, while the glazed, "painted" areas took on a dense, glossy black colour. The black-figure technique was introduced in Corinth around 700 BC, and was adopted by Attic artists in the Orientalising period (725-625 BC), and was used to make all types of pottery, which were then considered the best and highly prized by the upper classes. This was the beginning of the great series of black-figure ceramics, which had its main centre in Athens and lasted until the beginning of the 5th century BC.
The value placed on these works made them the subject of a flourishing trade and industry. Pottery painters and the masters who made the pieces in clay were highly prized in ancient Greece, and works in both the black-figure and red-figure techniques were created throughout the Mediterranean, both in cities of Greek population and foundation and in the potteries of those peoples who had contact with these same nuclei.
This piece comes from the region of Apulia in southern Italy, where Daunia, now the province of Foggia, and Messapia, in the southern part of the region, are located. From 320 BC onwards Athens no longer exported pottery, and only a few vessels were made and given as prizes to athletes in the Panathenaeans. Pottery from the Italic Peninsula took the place of Athenian pottery on the Mediterranean market.
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Ointment bottle; Magna Graecia, Apulia, 4th century BC.
Black-figured pottery.
Provenance: Private collection Philadelphia, USA.
Size: 9.5 x 5.5 cm.
The piece we present here shows a geometric decoration in the form of a net that is arranged on the belly of the vessel. It also has decoration based on bands on the mouth and foot made with the black-figure technique, based on the use of a transparent varnish which, when fired, acquired an intense, shiny black hue. The motifs were therefore invisible before firing, which meant that the painters had to work entirely from memory, unable to see their previous work. Once the piece was fired, the unglazed areas remained with the reddish hue of the clay, while the glazed, "painted" areas took on a dense, glossy black colour. The black-figure technique was introduced in Corinth around 700 BC, and was adopted by Attic artists in the Orientalising period (725-625 BC), and was used to make all types of pottery, which were then considered the best and highly prized by the upper classes. This was the beginning of the great series of black-figure ceramics, which had its main centre in Athens and lasted until the beginning of the 5th century BC.
The value placed on these works made them the subject of a flourishing trade and industry. Pottery painters and the masters who made the pieces in clay were highly prized in ancient Greece, and works in both the black-figure and red-figure techniques were created throughout the Mediterranean, both in cities of Greek population and foundation and in the potteries of those peoples who had contact with these same nuclei.
This piece comes from the region of Apulia in southern Italy, where Daunia, now the province of Foggia, and Messapia, in the southern part of the region, are located. From 320 BC onwards Athens no longer exported pottery, and only a few vessels were made and given as prizes to athletes in the Panathenaeans. Pottery from the Italic Peninsula took the place of Athenian pottery on the Mediterranean market.
