Setdart Subastas S.L
Lot 7
Bell-shaped cratera; Apulia, Magna Graecia, 4th century BC.Red-figured pottery.Thermoluminescence test attached.Intact.Provenance: private collection, Madrid.Measurements: 35 x 36 cm (diameter).Ceramic vessel with a circular base, a bell-shaped body with two handles, almost hidden under a pronounced rim at the top, which also opens outwards. The exterior of the piece is decorated on the obverse with the figures of a nude Bacchus wearing only a laurel wreath, and a maenad with sytula. Both figures are surrounded by vine leaves. On the reverse, the scene is depicted with two figures holding staffs.The krater was a large vessel, intended to contain a mixture of water and wine. It was carried to the place of the meal and placed on the floor or on a platform. The cupbearer administered the drink with a spoon or jug, and then filled the cups of the guests. The type known as 'bell-shaped' has small horizontal, protruding, upward-facing handles and an inverted bell-shaped vessel; it is a late-use type. The chalice krater is a more modern type than the column and scroll kraters, although it predates the bell krater, and its shape, with an almost inverted trapezoid profile, is reminiscent of the flower chalice.Red-figure ware was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek pottery. It was developed in Athens around 530 BC, and was used until the 3rd century BC. It replaced the previous predominant style of black-figured pottery within a few decades. The technical basis was the same in both cases, but in the red figures the colouring is inverted, with the figures highlighted against a dark background, as if illuminated by a theatrical light, following a more natural scheme. Painters working with black figures were forced to keep the motifs well separated from each other and to limit the complexity of the illustration. The red-figure technique, on the other hand, allowed greater freedom. Each figure was silhouetted against a black background, allowing the painters to portray anatomical details with greater accuracy and variety.The technique consisted of painting the motifs on the still-wet piece, using a transparent varnish which, when fired, took on an intense 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.
