LOT 0053

Greek Attic Terracotta Black-Figure Lekythos Attributed to the Athena Painter

CIRCA 490 B.C.

11 1/2 in. (649 grams, 29.2 cm).

Nearly cylindrical body with a slightly sloping shoulder with five palmettes and eight dots in between; main image showing a Dionysian procession with two advancing nude satyrs facing a young male playing a double pipe, each of the satyrs leaning on a walking stick and having a long garment draped over their shoulders and wearing a fillet and a large wreath on their heads.

Münzen und Medaillen A.G., H. Cahn, Basel, 24 April 1989.
Private collection, Bern, Switzerland.

Accompanied by an original thermoluminescence analysis report no.N125q44 by Oxford Authentication.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12641-236375.

Cf. The British Museum, London, museum no.1851,0416.18 and 1772,0320.394, for lekythoi by the Athena Painter.

The Athena Painter is known as the painter who designed several Greek black-figure pottery works using the 5th-century BC white-ground technique. He specialised in lekythoi and refers to Athena as his main subject in his works. Together with the Theseus Painter, they continued the tradition of painting large lekythoi. His black figures are of high quality, and in addition to lekythoi, he decorated other potteries such as oenochoai. Some archaeologists say that he may have been the same person as the Bowdoin Painter of red-figure pottery, although they may have just worked in the same workshop.