Vase - Earthenware - Penthouse at Figure Rosse

Splendid reproduction from the 1950s/60s of an Attic red-figure neck amphora, featuring a refined decoration typical of Athens ceramic production in the Classical period (6th/5th century BCE). On the principal side is depicted Antilochus, a young Greek hero, son of Nestor, famous for his participation in the Trojan War, shown nude, with only a helmet and a cloak draped down the back, and bearing a shield decorated with the image of a crab. On the opposite side is the goddess Athena, recognizable by her helmet and the spear she holds. This splendid vase belongs to the red-figure technique, where the figures retain the natural color of the clay while the background is filled with a shiny black glaze. This vase in particular is a reproduction of a famous artifact kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris (inventory number G213). The production of these vases, characterized by textured, irregular surfaces and rust/burnt-brown tones, is typical of certain Italian ceramicists from Lazio and Umbria in the 1950s/60s. In that decade, indeed, many artists experimented with 'fat lava' glazes or finishes that recalled natural elements in imitation of the great Greek and Etruscan ceramic tradition, to achieve these realistic results, also reproducing 'fake cracks/chips' precisely to make the vases resemble ancient ones even more.