Greek Attic Black-Figure Stemless Kylix w/ Swan
Ancient Greece, Athens, ca. 5th century BCE. A beautiful Attic kylix, a cup for drinking wine. It is a wide, shallow, wheel thrown vessel with a large, round disc base and twin horizontal handles. In tondo is a graceful black-figure image of a standing swan with long beak, thin legs, and elegant body. This piece presents strong Attic black-figure painting - a painting technique from the Archaic period. The artist first painted with slipware and then carefully scratched into it with a type of needle in order to incise the lines, thus creating delightful figures and patterns. In this case, the artist has depicted a swan, a creature which played a complex role in Greek mythology. The swan was the attribute of Aphrodite and Apollo, said to sing a song of unearthly beauty as it dies, and as the form assumed by Zeus to ravish Leda, mother of Helen of Troy. Size: 8.5" W x 2.25" H (21.6 cm x 5.7 cm)
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-collection H.G., Rhineland-Palatinate, acquired between 1970 and 1999
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.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#146806
Condition Report: Repaired along center and rim from four pieces. This is well done and unobtrusive. All paint is original with very light wear. Beautiful preservation of swan in tondo.
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Ancient Greece, Athens, ca. 5th century BCE. A beautiful Attic kylix, a cup for drinking wine. It is a wide, shallow, wheel thrown vessel with a large, round disc base and twin horizontal handles. In tondo is a graceful black-figure image of a standing swan with long beak, thin legs, and elegant body. This piece presents strong Attic black-figure painting - a painting technique from the Archaic period. The artist first painted with slipware and then carefully scratched into it with a type of needle in order to incise the lines, thus creating delightful figures and patterns. In this case, the artist has depicted a swan, a creature which played a complex role in Greek mythology. The swan was the attribute of Aphrodite and Apollo, said to sing a song of unearthly beauty as it dies, and as the form assumed by Zeus to ravish Leda, mother of Helen of Troy. Size: 8.5" W x 2.25" H (21.6 cm x 5.7 cm)
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-collection H.G., Rhineland-Palatinate, acquired between 1970 and 1999
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.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#146806
Condition Report: Repaired along center and rim from four pieces. This is well done and unobtrusive. All paint is original with very light wear. Beautiful preservation of swan in tondo.