Geometric Olpe by the Rattle Group

Greek art, Attica, late geometric, last quarter of 8th century B.C.
Beige-orange clay, metallescent slip in places
Wear to slip, crack to neck, small chips to rim, otherwise very good condition
Height: 45 cm

Provenance: Former collection of Colonel Joseph Isidore Louis Vernay (1876 - 1963), then by descent
Sale Aisne Enchères, Soissons, November 30, 2023, n.278

Bibliography: Unpublished

Comparative bibliography :
N. J. Coldstream, Greek Geometric Pottery (1968)


This large olpé is richly decorated, typical of the geometric period. The neck is decorated with two registers of checkerboards and one register of complex meanders. The body is decorated with hatched triangles, a checkerboard band and a chevron band. The shoulder features a horizontal painting of two seated figures on a chair, playing rattles, on either side of an indented shield resting on a central table. The decoration extends over the entire surface of the vase, and consists of checkerboards, cross-hatched rosettes, zigzags, triangles, lozenges, grecques and cross-hatched rosettes. Two cabochon-shaped protuberances are centered on the shoulder. This large jug belongs to the “Rattle Group”, characterized by rattle players and representing one of the earliest depictions of musicians in Attic art. Very rare examples are preserved in the Louvre, the British Museum and in Athens.