Campanian Red-Figure Bail Amphora

An ancient Campanian Greek red-figure bail amphora. The obverse with a young woman in flowing chiton moving to the left, holding a mirror and casket; a cloaked male on the reverse, the figures divided by large palmettes at the sides a band of laurel leaves on the shoulder, with female and satyr heads in profile on the neck.

Campania, Magna Graecia.
Ca. 350 - 330 BC.
Height: 12 1/4 in. (31 cm).

The output and quality of the Greek colonial potters working in Southern Italy increased greatly following the Peloponnesian War when Attic exports fell off sharply. South Italian Colonial Greek craftsmanship of the 4th century BC was an amalgamation of the Ionian (Athenian, Attic) conventions, and Doric (western colonial Greek) styles, with a noticeable native Italian aesthetic. The five predominant regional schools of South Italian pottery were: Apulian, Sicilian, Lucanian, Paestan, and Campanian.The Campanian region around the Bay of Naples, produced red-figure vases in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The fine light brown clay of Campania produced a distinctive look. Campanian potters preferred mostly smaller vessel types, but did produce larger vessels like bell kraters and bail-amphora. Subjects include youths, women, birds and animals, and often native Samnite warriors. At 4,000 known vases, the Campanian style is the second most common in the region after Apulian.

Formerly in a New York private collection.
Inv#: 9052
Guaranteed Authentic

$7,500

Related Items

Apulian Xenon Sessile Kantharos

$4,000

Paestan Red-Figure Plate with Animals

$17,500

Apulian Red-Figure Dish

$3,000

Join our mailing list