Altgriechisch Töpferware Pyxis. 6. Jahrhundert v. Chr. 10 H. „Sudbury Collection“. Spanische Exportlizenz.

Pyxis

Greek, Corinthian, 6th Century BC

MATERIAL: Pottery

DIMENSIONS: Height 10 cm

PROVENANCE:

- Collection of Capt. D. Wray Forshaw (South Africa and USA) from at least 1922.
- To the Heirs of Wray Forshaw.
- North american art market 2022.

EXHIBITED:

- Chelmsford museum (UK) 6 june 1922.
- National Museums of Southern Rhodesia, Bulawo, 1956.

CONDITION: Good. The lid repaired from 3 fragments, the base intact.

Red-figure pottery was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek production. It developed in Athens around 530 BC and was used until the 3rd Century AD. In the space of a few decades it took over the place of the previous dominant style of black-figure pottery. The technical base was the same in both cases but in red-figure pottery the colouring is reversed so that the figures stand out on a dark background as if they were lit up in a more natural way. The painters who did black-figure work were forced to keep the motifs they painted well apart one from the other and to limit their complexity. In contrast, the red-figure technique gave much greater liberty. 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 vessels while they were still unfired using a transparent slip, which when fired took on a black coloration. In this manner the motifs were invisible before firing so that the painters had to work from memory without seeing their earlier work. Once the piece had been fired the zones which had not been covered by the slip retained the red colouring of the clay while the glossy areas, those that had been “painted, acquired a dense, brilliant black colour.

Notes:
- The piece includes authenticity certificate.
- The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union).
- The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
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