Magna Graecia, South Italy, Apulian, ca. 4th century BCE. A gorgeous Apulian olpe of an attractive form comprised of an ample piriform body rising to a cylindrical neck that flares at the rim, and twin strap handles joining neck to shoulder. The body is finely painted via the red-figure technique with two Lady of Fashion heads (one on each side) depicted in profile and bedecked with jewelry and a saccos with radiate stephane, all delineated via the red figure technique with jewelry and hair ornaments highlighed in white fugitive pigment. Adding to the decorative program are stylized palmettes beneath the handles, and registers of running wave motifs along the neck. A fabulous example, replete with impressive artistry and technique. Size: 4.375" W x 7.625" H (11.1 cm x 19.4 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: ex Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000

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#158598

2 inch section of rim reattached. Nicks/chips to peripheries of rim, base, and handles. Expected surface wear with scuffs, abraded areas, and minor loss to fugitive white pigment though there much has survived the tests of time. Scattered mineral deposits.