Hydria (kalpis)
Hydria (kalpis)
The style of this important pottery decorator is evident in the thin figures with their small heads, soft hands and long toes, and in the design of the fluttering drapery.
The style of this important pottery decorator is evident in the thin figures with their small heads, soft hands and long toes, and in the design of the fluttering drapery.
Medium: red-figure Attic pottery
Medium: red-figure Attic pottery
Introduction
Introduction
The magnificent Attic vase is the most important item from the collection of Attic and Magna Graecia pottery collected during the 19th century by the Caputi family from a series of excavations conducted in the area of Ruvo di Puglia. A female sepulchre was discovered in the so-called “tomb of the ambers” which probably belonged to an unknown local noblewoman who lived in the 4th century BC. It is a hydria: a three-handled water jug; two of the handles are positioned on the side of the jug and are used to lift and carry it, while the third is located on the back of the jug and was used to tilt it to pour water out. The abundant decorations, consisting of red-coloured figures set against a black background, depict a pottery decorator’s workshop with seven figures in a curious tale linking the real world to the imaginary one. According to the archaeologist Roberto Paribeni, it is one of the most famous and most often copied vases in existence. This statement summarises the good fortune of this vase, whose decoration has been the subject of scientific study for over a century.
The work is at Gallerie d'Italia - Napoli .
The magnificent Attic vase is the most important item from the collection of Attic and Magna Graecia pottery collected during the 19th century by the Caputi family from a series of excavations conducted in the area of Ruvo di Puglia. A female sepulchre was discovered in the so-called “tomb of the ambers” which probably belonged to an unknown local noblewoman who lived in the 4th century BC. It is a hydria: a three-handled water jug; two of the handles are positioned on the side of the jug and are used to lift and carry it, while the third is located on the back of the jug and was used to tilt it to pour water out. The abundant decorations, consisting of red-coloured figures set against a black background, depict a pottery decorator’s workshop with seven figures in a curious tale linking the real world to the imaginary one. According to the archaeologist Roberto Paribeni, it is one of the most famous and most often copied vases in existence. This statement summarises the good fortune of this vase, whose decoration has been the subject of scientific study for over a century.
The work is at Gallerie d'Italia - Napoli .
