Description

Attic red figure skyphos with youths wearing a himation on side A and side B. Under the handles palmettes on either side. Old label under the base of the skyphos. 

Red-figure pottery is essentially the successor to black-figure pottery and represents a major leap in Greek ceramic art. In red-figure pottery, the background is painted black while the figures themselves remain the natural red color of the clay, so Red-figure pottery reverses the black-figure method. Potters then add details with brushstrokes rather than incising them, which allows for more naturalistic and flexible depictions of anatomy, clothing, and expressions. Red-figure had some advantages over black-figure painting: it was possibly to gain greater detail and more complex and expressive poses. 

Positive Thermoluminescence test.

Culture

Greek, Attica

Dating

c. 400 - 300 B.C.

Size

7 cm

Provenance

Dutch collection. Bought at auction house Gorny & Mosch, with German export license. 

Ex private collection G.S. Niedersachsen, Germany.

Ex German private family collection. 

Condition

Good condition, the youths on side B are slightly faded in comparison to side A.