Lot 26B
Magna Graecia, Southern Italy, Apulia, ca. 4th century BCE. A refined red-figure trefoil oinochoe (wine jug) with a tall, graceful neck and elegantly arched handle. The vessel is beautifully decorated with the profile bust of a female figure adorned in jewelry and framed by scrolling floral motifs. This figure, often referred to as a "Lady of Fashion," represents an idealized beauty wearing a saccos (head scarf) accented with pearl strands and hairpins. The trefoil spout is enriched with impressed egg-and-dart designs and rosettes around the rim, incorporating three small female heads as additional embellishment. These portraits, found on vases placed in women's tombs, emphasized wealth and aesthetic ideals rather than individual portraiture, serving as a symbol of female virtue and aristocratic status. Of special note, an iron fragment is fused to the underside of the handle - likely a remnant of another object once interred alongside it in the tomb! Size: 4" Diameter x 10.75" H (10.2 cm x 27.3 cm)
Perhaps the most groundbreaking development in Greek vase painting was the invention of the red-figure technique, first introduced in Athens around 525 BCE and later embraced by artists of Magna Graecia. Unlike the earlier black-figure method, which required rigid incised lines, the red-figure technique allowed painters to work with a soft, pliable brush, offering far greater flexibility. This innovation enabled artists to vary line thickness, experiment with diluted or layered glazes for chromatic effects, and capture subtle details of anatomy, clothing, and movement. Figures were left in the natural red of the clay, outlined and enriched with black lines to suggest volume, perspective, and dynamic presence. In some cases, additional fugitive pigments added further layers of color and refinement - as beautifully demonstrated in this example.
Provenance: private New Jersey, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery, 2020; ex-J.H. private collection, Beaverton, Oregon; ex-Malter Galleries, Encino, California, USA
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#197128
- Condition: Repaired from multiple pieces, with minor chips and areas of visible adhesive. Small gap to the break line on the body below the handle. Infill and overpainting along breaklines. Iron fused to handle as noted, likely another ancient object that was interred in a tomb with this vessel!
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