Greek Apulian Red Figure Bell Krater - Maenad & Satyr

Magna Graecia, South Italy, Apulian, ca. mid 4th century BCE. A large bell krater, painted in the red-figure style, with white/yellow fugitive paint details. On Side A the painter has depicted a draped maenad holding a tambour in her left hand and a ribboned wreath in her right. She stands in composite profile facing a standing satyr, who holds a thyrsus in his right hand and a platter of goodies in his outstretched left hand. Flowers, a fillet, and square makers marks further adorn the field. Side B features a pair of draped male figures standing in profile, each one holding a walking stick. In addition to this iconography, the vessel is adorned by extensive decorative program: a laurel leaf wreath beneath the rim, stylized palmettes below the handles with fretted bands surrounding each handle's termini, and a lower register underscoring the figural scene comprised of Greek key (meander). Extensive fugitive pigments on Side A contribute greatly to the scene. Size: 16.375" in diameter x 14.375" H (41.6 cm x 36.5 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 East Coast, USA collection; ex-private Texas, USA collection, acquired in the 1980s

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#149843
Condition Report: Handles repaired and reattached. Body likely repaired from multiple pieces with restoration over the break lines, but so well done and unobtrusive. Expected surface wear with scuffs and nicks to the surface of exterior as shown. Chips and abrasions on inside of the vessel. Underside of foot is covered with a web of root marks and deposits. Black glaze has developed a mirror-like iridescence.