Bell crater. Greece, 4th-3rd century BC. Red-figured pottery. Attached thermoluminescence. With export permit. Measurements: 33 x 35,5 cm. Ceramic vessel with circular base foot, bell-shaped body with two handles, located almost hidden under a pronounced rim at the top, which also opens outwards. The exterior of the piece is decorated with female and male figures in courtship and palmettes. The crater was a vessel of large capacity, intended to contain a mixture of water and wine. It was carried to the place of the meal, deposited on the floor or on a dais. The cupbearer administered the drink with a spoon or pitcher, then filled the cups of the guests. The type known by its shape as "bell-shaped" has small horizontal handles, protruding and directed upwards, and with a vessel in the shape of an inverted bell; it is a type of late use. The chalice krater is a more modern type than the columnar and scroll type, though earlier than the bell krater, and its shape, with an almost inverted trapezoid profile, is reminiscent of the flower chalice. Red-figure pottery was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek pottery. It was developed in Athens around 530 B.C., and was used until the 3rd century B.C. It replaced the previous predominant style of black-figured pottery within a few decades. The technical basis was the same in both cases, but in the red figures the coloring is inverted, the figures being highlighted on a dark background, as if they were illuminated by a theatrical light, following a more natural scheme. Painters working with black figures were forced to keep the motifs well separated from each other and to limit the complexity of the illustration. In contrast, the red-figure technique allowed greater freedom. Each figure was silhouetted against a black background, allowing painters to portray anatomical details with more accuracy and variety. The technique consisted of painting the motifs on the still wet piece, using a transparent varnish that, when fired, acquired an intense black hue. Therefore, the motifs were invisible before firing, which meant that the painters had to work entirely from memory, without being able to see their previous work. Once the piece was fired, the areas not covered by the glaze remained with the reddish tone of the clay, while the glazed areas, the "painted" ones, took on a dense and shiny black color.