The Three-Line Group is a workshop of Athenian black-figure painters active ca. 530-510 BCE. The name derives from the three
lines featured between each decorative zone on the body of the vessel. The main shape is the small neck amphora. Scenes include
gods and goddesses, Herakles, Amazons, and the Trojan War. Findspots are Etruscan sites, Samos, and Olbia.
Added red refers to an additional red-colored pigment, typically made of red ochre, that is painted onto a Greek vase before
firing. Various tints can result, including brown and purple. Added red is used for details such as blood, clothing, hair
fillets, and decorative borders. It is also used for lettering on red-figure vases.
Paseas (sometimes known as the Cerberus Painter) is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 525-510 BCE. The painter also
painted in red-figure (see Paseas [Red-figure]) and usually painted on white-ground. The name derives from a black-figure
pinax (plaque) dedicated on the Athenian Acropolis (Athens, National Museum Acr. 2583; BAPD 301992), inscribed: “one of the
paintings of Paseas.” It belongs to a series dedicated to Athena that feature the goddess, in one instance alongside Herakles.
Other findspots are the Athenian Agora, Chiusi, Taranto, Vulci, and Cerveteri.
The Epidromos Painter is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active ca. 510-500 BCE. The name derives from the inscription
“Epidromos kalos” (“Epidromos is beautiful”) on several cups. Subjects include the symposion, sacrifice, Dionysos and followers,
athletes, warriors, and Herakles. Findspots are sites in Etruria (Cerveteri, Vulci, Chiusi) and Spina.
Semi-outline is a decorative style that combines both outline and silhouette techniques (see Outline; see Silhouette). It
can be applied to a single figure, or in varying degrees to different figures and details in the same scene. Semi-outline
appears on Athenian black-figure vases (see Black-figure), such as on eye cups and Little Master cups, and on the Athenian
white-ground (see White-ground) lekythos.
The Affecter is an Athenian black-figure painter (and possibly potter) active ca. 540-520 BCE. The name derives from the mannerist
(i.e. affected) style of the figures. Shapes are various amphora types, including ovoid and Type C, as well as smaller shapes.
Subjects include stock iconography (draped, men, warriors, riders, dancers) and myth (Herakles, Theseus). Findspots include
Etruria, southern Italy, Naukratis, and Greece.
Panathenaic amphorae are big, ovoid, lidded vases that were presented as prizes to winners of the Panathenaic Games, which
were held once every four years in Athens in honor of Athena, patroness of the city. They were filled with olive oil from
Athena's sacred trees. The series, presumed to date to the reorganization of the games about 560 BCE, was produced through
the Hellenistic period and beyond. The Panathenaic amphorae of the Classical period are of the finest quality construction.
Panathenaic amphorae were only decorated in the black-figure technique.
The Thaliarchos Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active in the late 6th c. BCE. The name derives from the inscription
“Thaliarchos kalos” (“Thaliarchos is beautiful”) on a pyxis lid from Athens (Paris, Petit Palais 382; BAPD 200657) showing
a helmet-maker. The pyxis lid is the preferred shape. Other subjects include satyrs, Athena’s head, and a dwarf. Findspots
are Athens (Acropolis, unspecified sites), Megara, and Monte Lato (Sicily).
Miniature Panathenaic amphorae are ointment vessels with a similar shape to the regular-sized Panathenaic amphorae with small
handles and a narrow foot. They are usually decorated in black-figure and measure about 8 - 19 cm (about 3.1 - 7.5 in) high.
A belly amphora has a continuous, smooth curve from lip to foot. These amphorae have been classified as Types A, B, and C,
based on differences in the shape of lips, feet, and handles.
The Painter of Vatican 309 is an Athenian black-figure painter active in the mid-6th c. BCE and is classified as a “companion”
to Lydos. The name derives from a neck amphora found in Cerveteri (Rome, Vatican 309; BAPD 300873) featuring animal friezes
and a duel. Primarily a painter of the neck amphora, other shapes are plates and column kraters. Subjects include animals,
duels, riders, and a few scenes of Herakles and Theseus. Known findspots are Athens, Delos, Etruria, Naukratis, and Histria
(Romania).
Tleson (active around 555-535 BCE) was an Athenian potter and perhaps also a vase painter in the black-figure style. He was
the son of the famous potter Nearchos and brother of Ergoteles. His workshop apparently produced mostly Little-master cups.
The Priam Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active in the last quarter of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives from
a hydria discovered in Etruria (Madrid, Archaeological Museum 10920; BAPD 301795) showing Priam beside a chariot. Shapes are
the amphora in different forms and the hydria. Scenes include chariots, Herakles, Dionysos, battles, and hoplites. Findspots
are sites in Etruria and Sicily.
Named after a site on Rhodes where examples were found, Siana cups can be distinguished from Komast cups by their taller feet
and lips. They are decorated on the tondo (another difference from Komast cups) and there are two schemes for decorating the
exterior. The 'double-decker' type involves two friezes on each side, one on the lip (usually floral), and a figured scene
on the body. The 'overlap' type uses a single frieze on each side to cover the total height of the body and lip. Aspects of
the form and decoration of Siana cups appear to be indebted to East Greek models.
Silhouette is used to describe figures or objects painted in solid black against a lighter colored background. In the black-figure
technique (see Black-figure), figures and objects are painted in silhouette before employing incision for details (see Incised).
Examples are also found in Geometric (see Geometric), Orientalizing (see Orientalizing), and red-figure vase-painting (see
Red-figure), as well as on Boeotian “geometricizing” vases.
The Pioneer Group (or “Pioneers”) is a group of Athenian red-figure painters active ca. 520-500 BCE. The name is associated
with artists whose work is related stylistically and who refer to each other by name using inscriptions. Painters identified
with the group include Euphronios, Euthymides, Smikros, Phintias, and the Dikaios Painter. Shapes are often large vessels,
like the krater, amphora (Type A), hydria, and psykter. Scenes include both myths and daily life: Herakles, the Trojan War,
athletes, and the symposion. Some findspots are Vulci, Athens (Agora, Acropolis), Xanthos (Turkey), Gela, and Cyrene.
An uncommon form of the kantharos. The elements of foot, lower and upper walls and rim are the same as for the moulded-rim
kantharos, but the single handle spans from the upper part of the lower wall to the bottom edge of the moulding. Lacking a
spur, the cup is narrower than typical kantharoi, and while it is sometimes ribbed it is never found with stamping.
The Painter of the Nicosia Olpe is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 500 BCE. The name derives from a vase (Nicosia,
Cyprus Museum C 809; BAPD 330183) showing a man, woman, and youth. Other shapes are cups, the lekythos, and small amphora.
Scenes include chariots, arming, men with spears, riders, Herakles, Theseus and the Minotaur, Birth of Athena, and Ajax and
Cassandra. Findspots are Italy, Sicily, Cyrene, Naukratis, and Greece.
The Class of the Top-Band Stemless denotes a group of Athenian black-figure painters active in the late 6th to early 5th c.
BCE who decorate the shallow stemless cup. The name derives from the broad black band above the handle zone. Some are eye
cups with a gorgoneion in the interior. Subjects include warriors, Dionysos and followers, Theseus and the Minotaur, and animals.
Findspots are Vulci and other Etruscan sites, Aegina, Lesbos, and Cyrene.
Polychrome refers to vases that feature multiple colors in addition to the usual red and black derived from firing Athenian
clay and slip (see Added Color). Examples of polychrome are relatively rare in Athenian vase-painting, but are found more
regularly on Corinthian and South Italian wares. Several polychrome vessels in the form of the oinochoe are from the Athenian
Agora.
The Euaichme Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-460 BCE. The name derives from a cup from Vico Equense
(Naples) (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 01.8097; BAPD 209665) showing Nestor and Euaichme. The main shapes are cups and the
skyphos. Subjects include men, women, youths and boys, athletes, the symposion, and the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Findspots
are Etruria (Vulci, Cerveteri, Chiusi), Bologna, sites in southern Italy and Sicily, Ampurias (Spain), and Kerch.
The Fallow Deer Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of the Tyrrhenian Group active ca. 560-545/50 BCE. The name derives
from the appearance of deer with white spots on their backs on several examples. The primary shape is the ovoid neck amphora.
Subjects are Amazons, Gigantomachy, Herakles, Trojan War, and hunting. Findspots are Vulci and Tarquinia.
Apollodoros is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active in the late 6th c. BCE. The name derives from the painter (“egrapsen”)
who signs as Apollodoros on a fragmentary cup (Rome, Villa Giulia, ex Castle Ashby; BAPD 201006) showing warriors. Other scenes
include Dionysos and followers, the symposion, revelers (“komasts”), religion, and Theseus and the Minotaur. Some findspots
are sites in Etruria (Cerveteri, Orvieto, Gravisca, Tarquinia, Vulci) and the Athenian Acropolis.
The mastoid cup is a footless, flat-bottomed version of the mastos with an outturned lip. The cup is either handleless or
has horizontal handles attached a little below the rim.
The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology contains one of the most important collections of Greek antiquities in the United Kingdom.
The Museum forms part of the Department of Classics at the University of Reading and is situated on the university's Whiteknights
Campus, about two miles from the centre of the English town of Reading, Berkshire.
Pyxides are round, lidded boxes of various shapes and sizes used for cosmetics, powder or jewelry. Some were put in tombs.
The term 'skyphoid-pyxis' is used to designate a shape that became a Sicilian specialty with an ovoid body, a lid, and two
horizontal handles.
Euphronios is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 520-505 BCE, who signed as both painter (“egrapsen”) and potter (“epoiesen”).
Euphronios is considered a member of the Pioneer Group, along with Euthymides, Phintias, and other vase-painters. Shapes connected
to the painter are cups, the calyx krater, stamnos, psykter, and pelike. The cup is the main shape connected to the potter.
Scenes include Herakles and Antaios, athletes, the symposion, and Amazons. One of the best known works is a krater formerly
in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1972.11.10; BAPD 187) showing the personifications of Sleep (“Hypnos”) and Death (“Thanatos”)
carrying Sarpedon from the battlefield at Troy. Some findspots are sites in Etruria (Vulci, Cerveteri, Orvieto, Tarquinia),
Athens (Agora, Acropolis), Thasos, and Olbia (Black Sea).
Rarer than but similar to the psykter-amphora, the psykter-column-krater is a double-walled vessel meant to cool wine or water.
The outer vessel has a spout near the shoulder through which ice or ice water was poured into the space between the two walls.
It usually has a drain spout just above the foot, directly below the pour spout.
The Hischylos Painter is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active ca. 525-500 BCE. The name derives from the potter ("epoiesen")
who signs as Hischylos on several examples. Other than the cup, shapes include the column krater and bell krater. Subjects
are warriors and athletes. Findspots are Vulci, Taranto, and the Athenian Acropolis.
Smikros is an Athenian red-figure painter and part of the Pioneer Group active ca. 510-500 BCE. The name is inscribed as painter
(“egrapsen”) on several vases. Shapes include the stamnos, pelike, and psykter. Subjects are the symposion, musicians, Dionysos
and satyrs, and the Abduction of Thetis by Peleus. Findspots include Etruria (Todi, Cerveteri, Elea) and Athens (Kerameikos).
Term used to describe ancient Mediterranean vessels in the form of heads or animals or groups that were partially formed in
molds like terracotta statuettes.
The Painter of the Paris Gigantomachy is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-460 BCE. The name derives from a cup
found at Vulci (Paris, Cabinet de Médailles 573; BAPD 204546) showing the Gigantomachy on the interior and exterior. Shapes
are primarily the cup, but also the lekythos, oinochoe, and neck amphora. Subjects include athletes, revelers (“komasts”),
centaurs, satyrs, the symposion, and religion. Some findspots include Adria, Etruria (Vulci, Orvieto, Tarquinia, Cerveteri,
Chiusi), Nola, Gela, the Athenian Agora, Tanagra, and Ampurias (Spain).
Type A is the preferred cup shape of black-figure vase painters from about 530 BCE. The cup has a deep bowl without an offset
lip, a low flaring foot with a pronounced concave edge, and usually a fillet between the thick stem and the bowl.
The Carpenter Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 515-500 BCE. The name derives from a cup found in Chuisi
(London, British Museum E23; BAPD 201642) showing a carpenter on its interior. Though primarily a cup painter, a hydria has
been attributed to the same painter. Subjects include revelers (“komasts”), the symposion, youths, Herakles, satyrs, and hunting.
Findspots are sites in Etruria (Orvieto, Vulci), and a cup “near” the painter stylistically was found in Corinth.
The Princeton Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 545-530 BCE and a member of the Princeton Group. The
name derives from an amphora with a Panathenaic body found at Nola (Princeton, University Art Museum 169; BAPD 320405) showing
a man and a woman in a chariot. Shapes include the belly and neck amphora. Scenes include stock motifs (warriors, draped men)
and depictions of Herakles, Theseus, Trojan War scenes, and the Gigantomachy. Large numbers of vases have been found in Vulci,
while others come from Greece, Egypt, Cyrene, and Susa (Persia).
The Nikon Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 470-450 BCE. The name derives from the inscription “Nikon kalos”
or “kalos Nikon” (“Nikon is beautiful”) on several examples. Also attributed to the painter is a white-ground lekythos from
Eretria (Brussels, Musées Royaux A1019; BAPD 207607) showing a mistress and maid.
The Winchester Painter is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active ca. 520-500 BCE. The name derives from an eye-cup (Winchester,
UK, Winchester College 42; BAPD 200403) showing jumpers on the exterior and a satyr on the interior. Satyrs and athletes appear
on other cups. Findspots are Greece and Vulci.
The Beldam Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active in the second quarter of the 5th c. BCE, who also uses added
white and white-ground. The name derives from a lekythos found in Eretria (Athens, National Museum 1129; BAPD 352144) showing
satyrs torturing a woman described by Emilie Haspels (1894-1980) as a “beldam.” The main shape is the lekythos of different
types, including the “chimney lekythos” and pattern lekythos, the skyphos, alabastron, kantharos, and bell krater. Scenes
include Amazons, centaurs, satyrs, and maenads. Findspots are Athens (Kerameikos, Agora) and Attica, Corinth, Eretria, Perachora,
Boeotia, Argos, Olympia, sites in Italy and Sicily, Ampurias (Spain), the Black Sea, and Pitane (modern Turkey).
The KY Painter (Komast Y) is an Athenian black-figure painter affiliated with the Komast Group and dated to the 570’s and
560’s BCE. Shapes include the Komast cup, skyphos, lekanis, and column krater. The main subject is male revelers ("komasts").
Komast cups attributed to the painter have been discovered in the Greek mainland and were widely distributed around the Mediterranean
and the Black Sea.
The Nikoxenos Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter, affiliated with the Leagros Group, active late 6th and early 5th
c. BCE. The painter also produced red-figure and bilingual vases (see Nikoxenos Painter [red-figure]). The name derives from
a Panathenaic amphora from Capua, Italy (Oxford, Mississippi University Museum 1977.3.115; BAPD 202964) with “Nikoxenos kalos”
(“Nikoxenos is beautiful”) inscribed on Athena’s shield. Black-figure shapes include the neck amphora, hydria, and pelike.
Scenes are of Dionysos, Athena, Herakles and Amazons, soldiers arming, the fountain-house, Perseus and Medusa, and the Judgment
of Paris. Findspots are Etruria, southern Italy, Athens, Marathon, and northern Greece.
Nikosthenes is an Athenian potter active ca. 540-510 BCE. Signing a large number of vases as potter ("epoiesen"), Nikosthenes
is associated with Painter N and several other painters. Shapes include the Nikosthenic amphora (based on an Etruscan shape),
Nikosthenic pyxis, kyathos-dipper, skyphos, and psykter. Subjects include satyrs, Dionysos, warriors, revelers ("komasts"),
athletes, riders, and scenes with Athena. Most examples have been discovered in Etruria.
A minor Geometric shape, the conical oinochoe is small with a trefoil mouth, a narrow neck, and a body that consists of little
more than a broad shoulder. In Early Protocorinthian the body is straightened until it approaches a more or less shallow cone,
and the neck becomes taller; this conical oinochoe shape remains popular in Corinthian pottery until the early 6th c. BCE.
The Goltyr Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of the Tyrrhenian Group dated ca. 565-550 BCE. The name derives from
an amphora (Poland, Warsaw Archaeological Museum 142445; BAPD 310103) showing a komos. It is a contraction of two words: “Goluchow”,
the former collection in Poland, and “Tyrrhenian”.The primary shape is the ovoid neck amphora. Scenes depict centaurs, Amazons,
warriors, hunting, and male revelers ("komasts"). Findspots include Vulci and Cerveteri.
The Bowdoin-Eye Painter is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active ca. 520-500 BCE who painted bilingual cups (black-figure
interior, red-figure exterior). The name derives from a cup from Cerveteri (Brunswick, Maine, Bowdoin College 1913.2; BAPD
200369) showing athletes on the exterior and interior. Other subjects are warriors, satyrs and maenads, and revelers (“komasts”).
Findspots include sites in Etruria (Vulci, Roselle), the Athenian Acropolis, and Olbia (Black Sea).
The Oionokles Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-470 BCE. The name derives from the inscription “Oionokles
kalos” (“Oionokles is beautiful”) on several examples. Shapes are the neck amphora, lekythos, loutrophoros, and column krater.
Subjects include Dionysos and followers, revelers (“komasts”), warriors, Eos and Tithonos, the Death of Orpheus, Theseus,
and musicians. Findspots are Vulci, sites in southern Italy and Sicily, Rheneia (Delos), Anavysos (Attica), and Athens.
The Type B plemochoё is the later of the two types and is differentiated by its tall, medium-wide stem terminating in a disc-like
foot. Authorities do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘exaleiptron’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’
For further information on terminology, see 'plemochoё.'
The CHC Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active late 6th to early 5th c. BCE. The name derives from the
prevalence of chariot (CH) and courting (C) scenes. Associated with the group are the Heron Class, Dog Group, and the Group
of Thebes R102. The primary shape is the skyphos. In addition to chariot and courting scenes, there are scenes of women dancing,
myths, and sphinxes. Findspots include Athens (Agora, Acropolis), Rhitsona, Olbia, Miletus, Oria (Italy), and Corinth.
A variation of the Little Master cup, this shape is painted black save for a handle zone that contains a decorated frieze,
unlike lip-cups which are largely plain save for the line that divides the lip and the body.
The Pig Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 470-450 BCE and a member of the Mannerist Group. The name derives
from a pelike (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum 9.17; BAPD 206456) showing men and pigs. Other shapes are the column-krater,
hydria, and neck amphora. Subjects include Dionysos and followers, the symposion, revelers (“komasts”), athletes, and Theseus.
Some findspots are the Athenian Agora, Corinth, Olympia, Camiros (Rhodes), sites in southern Italy and Sicily, Naukratis,
and Kerch.
The Colmar Painter is an Athenian red-figure cup painter active ca. 505-480 BCE. The name derives from a cup (Colmar, Musée
d’Unterlinden 48; BAPD 203691) showing athletes. The painter also decorated a rhyton in the shape of a donkey’s head. Subjects
include athletes, warriors, Herakles, Theseus, the symposion, satyrs, and male revelers (“komasts”). Findspots are Athens
(Acropolis, Agora), sites in Etruria (Vulci, Orvieto, Tarquinia, Chuisi), and Ampurias (Spain).
Added white refers to an additional white-colored pigment that is painted onto a Greek vase, usually before firing. Most notably,
added white is used for the skin coloring of women in the black-figure technique, or as “second white” on white-ground vases.
The white pigment comes from natural materials, such as calcareous clay, lead, or perhaps bone.
The Bucci Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active in the late 6th c. BCE. The name derives from an amphora formerly
in a private collection (now New Orleans, Isaac Delgado Museum of Art 2033 [16.38]; 301635) showing Herakles and Hermes between
columns. Mainly a painter of the amphora, subjects include chariots, youths, departures, and Herakles. Findspots are Vulci,
Taranto, and Kamiros (Rhodes).
The Pan Painter is an Athenian red-figure vase-painter active ca. 490/80-450 BCE and a member of the Mannerist Group. The
name derives from a bell krater discovered in Cumae (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 10.185; BAPD 206276 ) showing Pan and a shepherd
on one side and the Death of Aktaion on the other. Other shapes are kraters of different types, the amphora in different forms,
the pelike, stamnos, lebes gamikos, loutrophoros, hydria, lekythos, alabastron, skyphos, and cups. Scenes include Nike, Dionysos
and followers, gods and goddesses, Herakles and Busiris, Eos and Kephalos, Achilles, warriors, revelers (“komasts”), hunting,
fishing, and funerary scenes. Some findspots are Athens (Acropolis, Agora, Kerameikos), Etruria (Cerveteri, Vulci), and sites
in southern Italy and Sicily.
The Phrynos Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of Little Master cups active ca. 560-540 BCE. The name derives from
vases signed as potter ("epoiesen") by Phrynos, and it is uncertain if the painter and potter are the same person. Subjects
include the Birth of Athena, Herakles, Bellerophon, Pegasos, and warriors. Findspots are Italy, Egypt, and the Athenian Agora.
The BMN Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 550-510 BCE, who worked with the potter Nikosthenes. The acronym
derives from “British Museum Nikosthenes” and refers to a neck amphora from Agrigento with Nikosthenes signed as potter ("epoiesen")
(London, British Museum B295; BAPD 302838). The painter decorated the amphora and Little Master cups, as well the hydria and
oinochoe. Subjects are youths, athletes, warriors, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Herakles. Known findspots are in Etruria,
Sicily, and Greece.
A class denotes vases of the same shape with enough similarities or details in common to suggest they belong together, such
as the Segment Class or the Class of the Top-Band Stemless. A single class can include vases by different painters.
The Prometheus Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of the Tyrrhenian Group active ca. 570-555 BCE. The name derives
from an amphora (Florence, Archaeological Museum 76359; BAPD 310028) showing Herakles freeing Prometheus. Shapes are the neck
amphora, hydria, and column krater. Subjects include Herakles/Amazons, Trojan War, and Birth of Athena. Findspots include
Etruria, Clazomenae, Cyrene, and the Athenian Agora.
The Haimon Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active in the early decades of the 5th c. BCE. The name derives
from the association with the Haimon Painter. Associated with the large output of the group are the Haimon Painter, Pholos
Painter, Ure’s Class of Skyphoi K 2, Lancut Group, and the Painter of the Half-Palmettes. The main shapes are the lekythos,
skyphos, mastos, and oinochoe. Findspots are Athens (Kerameikos, Agora, Acropolis), Olympia, Tanagra, sites in Italy, Olbia
and Berezan, Miletus, and Naukratis.
Kleitias is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 575-550 BCE who signs his name as painter (“egrapsen”). His best-known
work is a volute-krater known as the François Vase, which was found in Chuisi (Etruria) and is now in Florence (Archaeological
Museum 4209; BAPD 300000).It displays a series of mythological scenes and a large number of inscriptions. Other vases attributed
to the painter portray Odysseus, warriors, Amazons, dancing youths, and maidens. Other shapes include the Siana cup, Little
Master cup, skyphos, and hydria. Findspots include Athens (Acropolis, Agora), Samos (Heraion), Naukratis, Etruria, and Cyrene.
The amphora Type A has a flaring lip with concave sides, flat flanged handles, a foot with the upper part stepped, and a lower
echinus or torus. An early amphora shape that was popular in the black-figure technique, it was produced from the early 6th
c. BCE to about 440 BCE.
The Phanyllis Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active at the end of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives from
an inscribed lekythos dedicated on Delos to Hera “from Phanyllis” (Delos, Archaeological Museum 548; BAPD 30103) showing Dionysos.
Associated with the group are the Group of the Arming Lekythoi and the Group of Hoplite-Leaving-Home. Primarily painters of
the lekythos, other shapes connected to the group are the hydria and cups. Scenes are warriors, youths, athletes, Theseus,
Herakles, and Dionysos. Findspots are Sicily, sites in Greece (Athens, Corinth, Perachora, Thasos, Rhodes), Adria (Adriatic
coast of Italy), Olbia (Black Sea), and Pitane (modern Turkey).
Black glaze, also called “black gloss,” “black-painted,” or “black,” denotes the black slip that is applied to the entire
surface of a Greek vase. Black glaze consists of a diluted form of the natural clay that is transformed through a chemical
reaction during the firing process (see Black-figure). Surface decoration could include added color, gilding, relief, incision
or stamped motifs. It has been suggested that the technique was meant to evoke metal vessels. Athens was the main producer
of black glaze vases until c. 400 BCE. Other regions included South Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean, where they were made
until the 1st c. BCE.
The Shuvalov Painter was an Attic vase painter of the red-figure style, active between 440 and 410 BC, i.e. in the High Classical
period (Parthenon period). The Shuvalov painter's conventional name was allocated by John Beazley, who chose for a name vase
an amphora that is now at the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin argentum, derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ: "shiny"
or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity,
thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.
Black polychrome is a light-on-dark technique where vessels are painted with a black glaze (see Black Glaze) and details are
added in other colors, such as red and white. Ornaments or patterns can also be incised. In Athens the technique appears on
the phiale in the late 6th c. BCE, and can include floral motifs, animals, or human figures. Those with floral ornamentation
probably imitated metal vessels. The technique is related to Six’s Technique (see Six’s Technique), which was also made in
Athens. It also resembles East Greek Vroulian ware in some examples. Findspots include the Athenian Acropolis and Eleusis.
The EM IIA and IIB Vasiliki Ware, named for the Minoan site in eastern Crete, has mottled glaze effects, early experiments
with controlling color, but the elongated spouts drawn from the body and ending in semicircular spouts show the beginnings
of the tradition of Minoan elegance.
The Copenhagen Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter connected to the Syriskos Group, active ca. 470’s BCE and earlier.
The name derives from an amphora (Type B) from Vulci (Copenhagen, National Museum 125 [320]; BAPD 202920) showing an African
youth with a basket. The Copenhagen Painter’s style is closely related to that of the Syriskos Painter and the two painters
are sometimes hard to distinguish. Shapes are the stamnos, pelike, hydria, and krater. Subjects include the Tyrannicides,
the Struggle for the Delphic Tripod, Herakles, Theseus and the Minotaur, Medea and Jason, and the symposion. Some findspots
are Vulci, Nola, Athens (Acropolis, Agora), and Eleusis.
The Cock Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active at the end of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives from the
cocks adorning the shoulder of the lekythos, the shape associated with the group. Scenes include myth, warriors, and Dionysos.
The primary findspots are Athens, Boeotia, Rhodes, Sicily, and Olbia.
The Group of Toronto 305 are a group of Athenian black-figure painters active in the last quarter of the 6th c. BCE. They
are considered followers of the Antimenes Painter. The name derives from an amphora (Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum 305; BAPD
320246) featuring Dionysos and Herakles. Decorating mainly the amphora, subjects include warriors, riders, Dionysian scenes,
Herakles, and Amazons. Findspots are sites in Etruria and Kerch.
The Perizoma Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active from the last quarter of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives
from the white loincloth (“perizoma”) worn by athletes and dancers. Shapes include the stamnos, small neck amphora, and one-handled
kantharos (an Etruscan shape). Scenes are athletes and the symposion. Findspots include mostly Etruscan sites, with stray
finds in Gela and Rhodes.
The Anagyrus Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter dated to the first quarter of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives from
the ancient name for Vari (Attica), where many vases have been found. Shapes include the amphora, oinochoe, chalice, and plate.
Other findspots include Spata (Attica) and the Athenian Agora.
The amphora Type C has a rounded lip and torus or echinus foot and its handles vary in shape. It was potted from the second
quarter of the 6th c. BCE in the black-figure technique (especially by the Affecter's workshop), and from ca. 520 BCE to 470
BCE in the red-figure technique.
The Troilos Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 470-460 BCE who painted using black-figure. The name derives
from a hydria from Vulci (London, British Museum 99.7-21.4; BAPD 203082) showing Troilos and Polyxena. Shapes are the amphora,
stamnos, pelike, calyx krater, hydria, and lekythos. Subjects include the Struggle for the Delphic Tripod, gods and goddesses,
Herakles and Busiris, the Death of Orpheus, the Gigantomachy, and athletes. Some findspots are Etruria (Vulci, Cerveteri),
Orvieto, Nola, and Duvanlij (Thrace).
The Andokides Painter (sometimes referred to as the Lysippides Painter [Red-figure]) is an Athenian black-figure painter active
during the second half of the 6th c. BCE. The name derives from vases signed by Andokides as potter ("epoiesen"). Though known
for using the black-figure technique, the painter is also considered the first to regularly work in the red-figure technique
after its invention ca. 530-520 BCE (see Andokides Painter [Red-figure]). As a black-figure vase-painter, the artist is best
known for bilingual vases (decorated with the same scene on both sides, one in red-figure and the other in black-figure).
It remains unclear whether the bilingual vases were painted by a single artist or by two. Shapes are mainly the amphora and
cups, and scenes are mythological (Ajax and Achilles, Herakles, Dionysos). Findspots are Vulci, Orvieto, other sites in Italy,
and the Athenian Acropolis.
The Tyrrhenian Group is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active ca. 570-550 BCE who decorate the ovoid neck amphora
with human figures and multiple animal friezes. The name derives from the large number of vessels discovered in Etruria (located
in Italy along the Tyrrhenian Sea). Painters of the group include the Castellani Painter, the Goltyr Painter, the Guglielmi
Painter, the Timiades Painter, and the Kyllenios Painter. Despite some controversy about their place of manufacture, petrographic
analysis indicates that the vases were produced in Athens. Many of the vases have “nonsense inscriptions” in Greek. The major
finds spots are sites in Etruria, while some have been discovered in Athens (Agora, Acropolis, Kerameikos), Miletus, Ionia
(Turkey), Cyrene, and Naukratis.
The skyphos-krater is a very large, deep bowl with two horizontal strap handles with returns, and its rim is flanged or incurving
to receive a domed lid. The bowl may be supported by an echinus foot, or joined to a conical stand. The skyphos-krater is
an uncommon shape with a long history, being made from the Late Geometric period to the first quarter of the 6th c. BCE.
The Harrow Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-460 BCE. The name derives from an oinochoe (Harrow, UK,
Harrow School Museum 56; BAPD 202673) showing a boy with a hoop. Other shapes include a wide range of pots: the neck amphora,
pelike, stamnos, column krater, and hydria. Subjects include generic scenes (youths, men, women), Dionysos and followers,
gods and goddesses, Theseus, Herakles, centaurs, the symposion, and Capture of Silenos. Some findspots are Athens (Acropolis,
Agora), Etruria (Vulci, Cerveteri), Nola, Falerii, sites in Sicily, Gordion, Kerch, and Bourges (France).
The Nikosthenes Painter (also known as the Painter of Sleep and Death) is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 510-500
BCE. The name derives from the potter ("epoiesen") who signs as Nikosthenes on several examples (see Nikosthenes [Black-figure]).
Shapes are cups, the skyphos, kantharos, pyxis, and neck amphora. Subjects include athletes, satyrs and maenads, revelers
(“komasts”), warriors, Herakles, Hermes and cattle, and Odysseus under the ram. Some findspots are Etruria (Cerveteri, Vulci,
Gravisca, Orvieto, Tarquinia), Athens (Acropolis, Agora), Naukratis, Clazomenae, Marseille, and Leuke (Black Sea).
Hypsis is an Athenian red-figure painter and part of the Pioneer Group active ca. 510 BCE. The name is inscribed as painter
(“egrapsen”) on a hydria from Vulci (Munich, Antikensammlungen 2423; BAPD 200170) showing Amazons. The preferred shape is
the hydria. Another subject includes women at a fountain house. The vases have been found at Vulci.
The Bellerophon Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 630-600 BCE. On two examples of the neck amphora, Bellerophon
and the chimera are shown, giving the painter its name. Findspots include Vari and Etruria.
The Antimenes Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 530-510 BCE. The name derives from the inscription “kalos
Antimenes” (“Antimenes is beautiful”) appearing on a hydria from Vulci (Leiden, (Rijksmuseum II167 [PC63]; BAPD 320011) showing
men washing in a fountain-house. Shapes are mostly the hydria and neck amphora. The painter has a wide range of mythological
scenes, including Herakles, Dionysos, Amazons, Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Gigantomachy, as well as everyday scenes
of the fountain-house and olive picking. Most examples have been discovered in Vulci and Tarquinia.
The OLL Group (Oxford-Leipzig-Louvre) is a group of Athenian black-figure painters active ca. 565-550 BCE. The group consists
of painters of the ovoid neck amphora with mythological subjects and animal friezes. The vases are sometimes included in the
Tyrrhenian Group. The incorporation of a large figural frieze distinguishes them from the Tyrrhenian Group. Findspots include
Cerveteri, Rhodes, and the Athenian Acropolis.
