Bell crater. Magna Graecia, Paestum, mid-4th century... Lot 127

Bell crater. Magna Graecia, Paestum, mid-4th century BC. Ceramics with red figures. Provenance: Private collection, Cannes, France. Purchased from the Pierre-Eric Becker Gallery, Cannes, 1998. Thermoluminescence test attached. Recomposed in all the original fragments. Measurements: 31 cm (height). Bell-shaped krater from Paestum decorated with the red-figure technique. On one of the fronts we can see two Bacchic figures next to a basin, and on the other two ephebes conversing. In terms of typology, the crater was a large vessel intended to contain a mixture of water and wine. It was carried to the place where the meal took place, placed on the floor or on a platform. The cupbearer administered the drink with a spoon or jug, and then filled the cups of the guests. The type known as 'bell-shaped' has small horizontal, protruding, upward-facing handles and an inverted bell-shaped vessel; it is a late-use type. The chalice krater is a more modern type than the column and scroll kraters, although it predates the bell krater, and its shape, with an almost inverted trapezoid profile, is reminiscent of the flower chalice. Red-figure ware was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek pottery. It was developed in Athens around 530 BC, and was used until the 3rd century BC. It replaced the previous predominant style of black-figure ware within a few decades. The technical basis was the same in both cases, but in the red figures the colouring is inverted, with the figures highlighted against a dark background, as if illuminated by a theatrical light, following a more natural scheme. Painters working with black figures were forced to keep the motifs well separated from each other and to limit the complexity of the illustration. The red-figure technique, on the other hand, allowed greater freedom. Each figure was silhouetted against a black background, allowing painters to portray anatomical details with greater accuracy and variety.