Antiquities & Ethnographic Art

Provenance:

Private Collection, Switzerland.

Galerie Günter Puhze, Freiburg (Kunst der Antike, Katalog 13, no. 122), 1999.

Note:

During the 5th Century B.C., the kalpis became a preferred vessel for red-figure painters. Like the hydria though smaller, the kalpis was used to house water or wine. These vessels were typically decorated with mythological scenes or scenes of daily life. This red-figured kalpis, attributed to the Harrow Painter, illustrates a courting scene. In the center sits a hetaira (courtesan) holding a mirror with a dog behind her and a kalathos at her feet, flanked by two bearded males each holding a staff. Courtesans were often guests of the all-male symposium, and thus a popular subject matter for painted vessels.

For a vase attributed to the Harrow Painter with a similar courting scene, see Stamnos (Musée du Louvre, Inv. no. G191).