Type “B” red-figure kylix attributed to the painter of Brygos (Padgett)

Greek art, Attica, circa 480 B.C.

Black-glazed orange clay
L. 30.5 cm ; Diam. 23.7 cm ; H. 9 cm
Gaps and visible restorations

Provenance: Coll. Prof. Dr. L. & M. H.-E. Hessen,
Acquired in 1980 from Holger Termer, Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg, as Briseis Painter
Beazley Archive: 5649 and 9054883 as Briseis Painter
Artloss Register n. L-15608
Interpol certificate 23021 dated 05/24/2023 at 12:41pm

Bibliography: Beazley Archive, n. 9054883 and 5649
Holger Termer, Galerie Neuendorf, Kunst der Antike 2, Hamburg 1980, pp. 40-41, n. 16 (illustrated)

Previously attributed to the Painter of Briseis, one of the best pupils of the Painter of Brygos, this highly refined kylix bowl has recently been reattributed to the master himself. Indeed, other high-quality bowls with similar compositions and figures are the work of this great Athenian painter. This new attribution has been confirmed by Michael Padgett, whom we thank for his help. Indeed, the specialist links our kylix with another in the Phoenix Gallery (cf. fig. 1 below). The scene in the central tondo depicts a bearded man wearing a finely pleated himation, giving a flower to a seated young ephebe who is about to insert it into the wreath he is making. On the left is a banquette, probably an allusion to the banquet for which the elder of the two figures is preparing.

The tondo can also be compared with a very similar bowl from the Castellani collection in the Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia (cf. fig. 2). It features a very similar figure with the same drapery, as in the cup from the Zimmermann collection in New York, recently sold at Christie's on April 9, 2024, n. 27 (cf. fig. 3). In this painting, the artist demonstrates a great talent for drawing, justifying his being considered one of the most important coupe painters of his generation.