The Greek colonies of southern Italy (known in
antiquity as Magna Grecia) were marked by their
initial allegiance to the ceramic styles of the Attic
mainland. However, over the years, native
traditions and innovations heavily influenced the
works of Magna Grecian potters. Unorthodox
forms and painting-styles were seamlessly
merged with the standard Greek style, creating
distinctive works of art unique to the Hellenistic
world. This Apulian red-figure patera features
serpentine handles decorated with applied
rosette patterns to facilitate transportation of
this piece. A patera was a type of large platter
used for presenting and serving food to guests
during elegant diner parties. The dish rests on a
low foot-ring and features painted details added
in white and brown wash. While the focus would
have been on the interior of the patera, the
exterior has received most of the attention for
the decorative scheme. Painted on one side of
the exterior, a seated nude youth holds a shield
and a spear, his sword resting at his side. He is
flanked on the left by a youth holding spears and
a woman holding a phiale (a type cup used for
offering libations) and on the right by a youth
carrying spears and a helmet. Two windows
have been added to the otherwise black
background space, suggesting that this scene
takes place indoors, or perhaps directly outside
of a structure. The other side of the patera
shows a thyrsos-bearing youth holding a phiale.
A standing youth and a girl flank him on either
side. Palmette motifs so typical of Magna
Grecian art fill the space around the handles,
leaving almost no space on the exterior of the
patera unadorned. The scholar A.D. Trendall
attributed this patera to the Painter of Athens
1714 in his book on Apulian Vases.
Published: A.D. Trendall and A. Cambitoglou,
The Red-figured Vases of Apulia, 2nd
Supplement, Part I. London, 1991. p. 51,
no. 8/167a .
Exhibited: Dallas Museum of Art (loan no.
7.1995); San Antonio Museum of Art, July 1997
to March 2003.
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