The oinochoe was designed for pouring wine from a krater into a drinking vessel. This attractive example has a trefoil mouth and a single handle. The obverse depicts a naked  More »

The oinochoe was designed for pouring wine from a krater into a drinking vessel. This attractive example has a trefoil mouth and a single handle. The obverse depicts a naked male with a fillet tied around his curly black hair. A chlamys, draped over his left arm , billows out in alignment with his left leg. The figure carries a jug in his right hand and a phiale in his left. The body has been rendered to produce an ‘X’ shaped composition, whereby the limbs appear to run at parallels with one another, ensuring that the painter has made full use of the field. The egg and dot motif fills the band encircling the neck and the wave motif runs around the vessel above the base. The reverse constitutes a plain black slip. - (AM.0039)   « Less

The bail-amphora is distinctive for the arrangement of the handle which is attached at the lip and extends across the mouth. The obverse depicts a warrior wearing a helmet,  More »

The bail-amphora is distinctive for the arrangement of the handle which is attached at the lip and extends across the mouth. The obverse depicts a warrior wearing a helmet, armour and a short tunic. He holds a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right. A draped female wearing a sakkos is seated opposite the warrior. She rests her left foot on a rocky outcrop and holds a phiale with a fillet attached in her outstretched left hand. The figures are flanked by a palmette complex and a wave motif encircles the shoulder and groundline of the amphora.The reverse shows two heavily draped males wearing fillets in their hair. A fillet and a laurel branch are included in the space between them. The neck of this slender amphora is decorated with the so-called tongue motif. - (AM.0075)   « Less

The wide-mouthed bell krater was designed for mixing wine with water. This superb vessel may have been utilised at a symposium, or drinking party, an occasion for  More »

The wide-mouthed bell krater was designed for mixing wine with water. This superb vessel may have been utilised at a symposium, or drinking party, an occasion for philosophical discussion as well as drinking and music. The obverse depicts a draped female wearing a sakkos and seated on a rocky outcrop. She holds a large basket in her left hand. Facing towards the female, a crouching satyr clutches a kantharos in his right hand and a basket in his left. The laurel motif forms a band beneath the rim and a meander design encircles the groundline. Fillets adorn the remaining space in the field.The reverse shows two heavily draped males facing one another, both carrying staffs. An unidentified object is positioned in the field above them. - (AM.0076)   « Less

The wide-mouthed bell krater was designed for mixing wine with water. This superb vessel may once have been used at a symposium, or drinking party, an occasion for  More »

The wide-mouthed bell krater was designed for mixing wine with water. This superb vessel may once have been used at a symposium, or drinking party, an occasion for philosophical discussion as well as drinking and music. The obverse depicts a naked male in the centre, seated and wearing a sakkos in his hair. In his left hand he holds a thyrsus, at the same time turning his head to face the draped female behind him. A bearded satyr stands to the viewer’s far left, wearing a fillet and raising a cup in his hand. To the right of the central figure hovers a winged Eros who unites the seated male and the woman to the far right by touching them both with his outstretched arms. The woman is heavily draped and appears to be dancing. The laurel motif adorns the band beneath the rim and the meander design forms the groundline. The figures are flanked on both sides by the palmette complex.The reverse shows three heavily draped males. The figure to the viewer’s far left clutches a tympanum and the central figure leans on a staff. The figure on the far right gesticulates towards the other two. - (AM.0077)   « Less

This striking water vessel – or hydria – dates from a powerfully dynamic time in the Classical world. The hydria was a vessel designed for holding water, with a  More »

This striking water vessel – or hydria – dates from a powerfully dynamic time in the Classical world. The hydria was a vessel designed for holding water, with a vertical handle at the back for dipping and pouring and two horizontal handles at the side for lifting. Such a large and elaborately decorated version might have been used at a symposium (where wine was diluted with water) or alternatively as a funeral offering for a wealthy member of society. Red- and black-figure wares constitute a narrative of Mediterranean social mores in the first millennium BC, as well as a general guide to mythological heritage and stylistic trends. This piece is unusual in that it comes from one of the earliest Greek Colonies. A series of demographic, political and economic problems in the 8th and 7th centuries BC brought about a major exodus to Southern Italy as well as other sites such as Southern France and the Black Sea. There were so many Greeks living in Italy that the area was dubbed “Magna Graecia” – Greater Greece – and the immigrants brought many artistic and social traditions with them. Perhaps most significant was the Chalcidean alphabet, which was used by the Etruscans, and their sculptural and painting methods.Apulia – the origin of this piece – is a portion of Southern Italy bounded by the Ionian and the Adriatic, culminating in the peninsula of Salento. Magna Graecia was eventually absorbed by the Roman Empire in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, yet many of the stylistic trends that distinguish the Greeks from other Classical groups can be seen on pieces such as this. Most of the notable Greek-Italian fusion red figure ware vessels currently known come from Apulia; there is a good chance that this piece was made in the city of Taras, as this was the main production centre for the area. Two main styles were distinguished, that have a social and a chronological basis. The main variant was the “plain style”, which differs from the “ornate [rich] style” in terms of the number of figures and the manner in which they are represented. The ornate painters tended to use larger vessels (such as hydriai, amphorae and volute kraters) with numerous figures arranged in multiple registers and in extravagant colour schemes. Grandiose decoration with more than one tier, as evident in this example, had a short vogue in Athens in the second half of the fifth century but was most fully developed in southern Italy.   « Less

Pelike is the term used to describe a type of amphora with two handles, where the broadest part of the body is below the mid-point of its height. The shape of the vessel was  More »

Pelike is the term used to describe a type of amphora with two handles, where the broadest part of the body is below the mid-point of its height. The shape of the vessel was originally designed as a storage receptacle for liquids, particularly oil and wine, but it is likely that elaborately decorated examples such as this one served a funereal purpose The obverse depicts a standing draped female on the left, with her hair elegantly arranged beneath a sakkos. Beaded jewelry also adorns her neck and wrist. To the right is a naked male youth with a fillet in his hair. He is seated on his chalmys and holds a kettledrum in his right hand and a thyrsus in his left. Although his seat is angled away from the female, he looks over his shoulder towards her enabling the two figures to interact. The band above the body is filled with the rosette and dotted ovolo motif, whilst that below the figures features the meander pattern.The reverse depicts two standing draped youths, one of which rests upon a staff. The figures are flanked on both sides by a palmette design but in contrast to the obverse, the neck of the vessel is decorated with the laurel wreath motif. (AM) - (FF.060)   « Less

Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 11.5" (29.2cm) high x 12.5" (31.8cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta

Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 11.5" (29.2cm) high x 12.5" (31.8cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta   « Less

Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high x 12.2" (31.0cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta

Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high x 12.2" (31.0cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta   « Less

Origin: Magna Graecia Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 13.75" (34.9cm) high x 15.25" (38.7cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta

Origin: Magna Graecia Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 13.75" (34.9cm) high x 15.25" (38.7cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta   « Less

Origin: Magna Graecia Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 13.9" (35.3cm) high x 14" (35.6cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta

Origin: Magna Graecia Circa: 400 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 13.9" (35.3cm) high x 14" (35.6cm) wide Collection: Classical Style: Apulian Medium: Terracotta   « Less