Kertsch Vase with expertise by Dr. Hildebrandt - Antikensammlung Hamburg
Price: on request
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Object number
AR1997
| Object: | Pelike with vertical handles and a protruding mouth |
| Material: | Red clay with black slip. Manufactured on a wheel, handles added separately. |
| Size: | Height 270 mm, diameter at the bottom 87 mm, at the mouth 148 mm, maximal diameter 150 mm. |
| Dating: | 370 - 360 BC Late classical period |
| Manufactory: | Athens. Probably found in the area of Sevastopol. The Kerch style was typical of the last phase of Attic red-figure pottery production. Its name origins from the fact that most of the corresponding specimen were found on the Kerch peninsula in the Black sea, in ancient times known as Pantikapaion. It seems that the pieces were produced on purpose for the export to this area. Correspondingly, the decorations mainly show iconography associated by the Ancient Greeks with people living in the barbaric countries north of the Black sea, among which most popular were Arimasps, Griffins and Amazons. |
| Condition: | Overall excellently preserved piece. Two chips at the lip, surface partially worn with missing colours. On the bottom written in black ink in two lines "1885 V.34", probably the year of excavation. |
| Attributed to: | Group G or close proximity of group G. (see J. Beazley, Attic Red-figured Vase Painters² (Oxford 1963) 1462-71) |
| Depiction: | Side A: Fight between a griffin and an Arimasp. Left a griffin in profile to the right, the forelegs raised, the wings spread, head with spout and two horns. The griffin's body is painted white, the wings are kept in red. Right a warrior in oriental attire withdrawing from the griffin. The surface is strongly worn here. The right leg is put forward, the left leg is angled, the body points diagonally to the right. The right hand is raised over the head, carrying a sword, the left hand holds a pelta-shaped shield. Below and above the scene egg and dart, between the single ovoles are black dots. Side B: Two "Manteljuenglinge", young men dressed with a coat, facing each other. The left boy is shown in profile to the right. He is dressed in a long coat and hols a tympanon. The right boy is also depicted in profile. |
| Historical note: | In Greek mythology, griffins lived in the remote northern countries and were the guardians of gold. They were constantly on war with the Arimasps, a tribe of one-eyed people who tried all and everything to get hold of the gold. Although described as one-eyed in ancient literature, they were rarely depicted this way. In the most cases, the ancient artists merely depicted the Arimasps wearing barbaric attire. |
| References: | Paris, Musée du Louvre G 553 bis (N 3454): ARV² 1463 Nr. 32 (a more elaborated piece) A similar piece was offered by the Royal Athena Gallery for a price of $ 24,000.- |
| Provenance: | Acquired 2013 from H. Wenske who obtained the piece as a present from his mother. The vase was acquired by her late husband, a chemist and field doctor during the war, in the Crimea in the 1940s. In 2008/09, the pelike was on loan in the Antikensammlung des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (the collection of antiques of the museum of art and trade of the city of Hamburg). An expertise was issued by Dr. Frank Hildebradt in 2009, a copy of the document will be provided. In 2014 inspected at the Staatliche Antikensammlung München. Published in the exhibition catalogue of the MKG Hamburg (see above). |
| Authenticity: | We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity. A Certificate of Authenticity will be issued. |