Greek red-figure amphora, Apulia, c.330-320 BC, attributed to the Ganymede Painter (Trendall)
Terracotta
Height: 81.5cm
11673 C EL
€ 75,000
Large amphora with elongated neck and handles, and a tall foot. The body is painted with the figure of a young, nude warrior seated within an ionic naiskos. His shield...
Large amphora with elongated neck and handles, and a tall foot. The body is painted with the figure of a young, nude warrior seated within an ionic naiskos. His shield rests against his throne, two spears cradled in the left arm, his plumed Chalcidian helmet in his right hand, an Oscan helmet hanging from the lintel above. The naiskos is flanked by confronted seated ladies each holding a phiale, whilst a hydria rests on the dotted ground-line below. On the reverse is a stele draped with a sash, flanked on the left by a chiton-clad lady holding a fan and wreath, a sash in the field, and on the right a similarly clad lady holding a casket and garland of flowers, rosettes in her right hand and a shield in her left. Details in both scenes are enlivened with added white, red and golden brown. The subsidiary decoration is elaborate and expertly executed, with large scrolling palmettes, bands of added white tendrils, and elegant tongues running the length of the neck.
Both handles broken and reattached, with some repainting, the foot broken and reattached with restoration and repainting, the mouth likewise. Some small retouching to losses mostly affecting areas of white and the shading to the two bronze hydria.
This is a particularly good example by this prolific painter whose actual name is unknown, yet whose work displays consistent stylistic features that point to a distinct artistic personality. Trendall designated him the Ganymede Painter, after a depiction of Ganymede with a swan painted on the neck of a volute krater. He worked closely with the Patera Painter and decorated both large- and small-scale vessels. On larger vases, he favored funerary themes with ambitious compositions, particularly in naiskos scenes, which he often enriched with numerous objects and occasionally horses in addition to the principal figure. He also executed finely rendered floral motifs on the necks of volute kraters and made extensive use of added color. A large number of vases have been attributed to him on stylistic grounds.
Both handles broken and reattached, with some repainting, the foot broken and reattached with restoration and repainting, the mouth likewise. Some small retouching to losses mostly affecting areas of white and the shading to the two bronze hydria.
This is a particularly good example by this prolific painter whose actual name is unknown, yet whose work displays consistent stylistic features that point to a distinct artistic personality. Trendall designated him the Ganymede Painter, after a depiction of Ganymede with a swan painted on the neck of a volute krater. He worked closely with the Patera Painter and decorated both large- and small-scale vessels. On larger vases, he favored funerary themes with ambitious compositions, particularly in naiskos scenes, which he often enriched with numerous objects and occasionally horses in addition to the principal figure. He also executed finely rendered floral motifs on the necks of volute kraters and made extensive use of added color. A large number of vases have been attributed to him on stylistic grounds.
Provenance
Various Properties; Sotheby's, London, UK, 13th July 1987, no.304André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA; likely acquired from the above, stock number GR 322
Royal Athena Galleries, New York, USA
Private collection, Chiswick, London, UK; acquired from the above, 1998
Literature
For a discussion on the Ganymede Painter see A.D. Trendall, The Red-figured Vases of Apulia (Oxford, 1982), pp.793-798, for his amphorae see ibid., p.798 nos.13-16, and for the decoration of a warrior within a naiskos and flanked by two female figures see ibid., pl.296.1Publications
Sotheby's, London, UK, Ancient Glass, Ancient Silver and Jewellery, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities also Art Reference Books, 13th July 1987, no.304André Emmerich Gallery, New York, USA, Classical Antiquities (Cat. 1988-9), no.XIII, colour ill
A.D. Trendall and Alexander Cambitoglou, Second Supplement to the Red-Figured Vases of Apulia, Part II (London, 1992), p.245, no.16al
Sotheby's, New York, USA, Important Classical, Egyptian, and Western Asiatic Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art, 14th December 1994, lot 117; 'Various Properties'
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