Two Attic Red-Figured Lekythoi

Attributed to the Berlin Painter, Circa 490-480 B.C.

Height of largest 16 inches (40.6 cm).

This lot is located in Chicago.

Provenance:

Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, acquired by 1963.

Tilly and Herbert A. Cahn, Basel, acquired by 1971 (no. HC128).

H.A.C., Basel, 1996 (Lekythoi, Oinochoi: Kannen und Lekythen der Antiken Welt , no. 16 [Berlin Painter]; no. 17 [other]).

Private Collection, acquired from the above, 1998.

with Colnaghi Gallery, New York, 2019.

Published:

Berlin Painter: J.D. Beazley, Attic Red-figure Vase-painters, vol. 2,

Oxford, 1963, p. 1635, no. 202bis.

J.D. Beazley, Paralipomena: Additions to Attic Black-Figure Vase-

Painters and to Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters, Oxford, 1971, p. 343, no. 202bis.

J.M. Padgett, The Berlin Painter and His World: Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C., Princeton, 2017, p. 385, no. B202bis; p. 402, no. FN14bis.

Beazley Archive Pottery Database no. 275102.

The taller of these two lekthoi has a unique past. When Beazley first saw it, the palmette designed shoulder was married to figural fragments all attributed to the Berlin Painter. However, by 1970, the figural and floral fragments had been divorced, as these parts were correctly identified as belonging to two different vases. (op. cit., 1963)

Tallest
Inspected under UV light, 10x loupe, and acetone tested. Repaired from multiple large fragments throughout the body and shoulder with infill and overpaint evident. Repairs do not affect the overall stability of the lekythos. Other restorations present, particularly around the base of the handle and foot; areas in question lift with acetone. Surface wear throughout including abrasions/scratches, loss to glaze or paint, and minor chipping around the edges of the rim. In very attractive and stable condition.
Smallest
Inspected under UV light, 10x loupe, and acetone tested. Small areas of restoration or repair seemingly present; overpaint lifts with acetone around the handle where it attaches to the neck and shoulder with possible infill at the base. Acetone test reveals other localized areas of enhancement/overpaint. Minor surface wear throughout with small chipping to edges of rim, abrasions, superficial crackling, and loss to glaze to small areas. Overall in attractive and stable condition.

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Ancient Art & Natural History: A Cabinet of Curiosities

Two Attic Red-Figured Lekythoi

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