94 - A GREEK BLACK-FIGURE PAGENSTECHER TERRACOTTA LEKYTHOS (OIL FLASK)

A GREEK BLACK-FIGURE PAGENSTECHER TERRACOTTA LEKYTHOS (OIL FLASK) Southern Italy, Paestum, c. 340 BC. Finely modeled, the slender baluster body supported on a projecting foot and surmounted by a waisted neck with a flat rim, one side set with an upright curved handle. The exterior is finely painted in dark pigments with carefully incised details, depicting the head of a youthful male in profile, his long hair delicately bound by a reddish band and flanked by foliate motifs. The composition is framed by black decorative bands encircling the neck and foot and extending along the outer edge of the handle. Provenance: Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, United States, 1984. Collection of Lloyd and Jeanne Raport, Washington DC, United States, acquired from the above. A copy of the invoice from Royal-Athena Galleries, dated 17 November 1984, confirming the attribution above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of USD 1,500 or approx. EUR 4,200 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Royal-Athena Galleries, founded in New York by Jerome M. Eisenberg (1930-2022), was a prominent American dealership specializing in Classical, Egyptian, and Near Eastern antiquities. Active for several decades in the second half of the twentieth century and into the early twenty-first, the gallery published numerous catalogues under the title Art of the Ancient World and was an important source for private and institutional collectors in the United States and abroad. Condition: Good condition with expected wear, firing irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, the handle reattached, typical rubbing to pigments, and minor nibbling along the rims. Weight: 180.7 g Dimensions: Height 14.5 cm The subject depicted on the present vessel was accorded particular prominence through its inclusion in the final volume of the Pierre-François Hugues d’Hancarville’s Antiquités étrusques, grecques et romaines tirées du cabinet de M. William Hamilton (commonly abbreviated AEGR), the monumental four-volume catalogue of the collection of ancient vases assembled by Sir William Hamilton and first published in Naples from 1766. D’Hancarville (1719-1805), a French antiquarian and writer on ancient art, was commissioned by Hamilton to catalogue and interpret the collection, producing a lavishly illustrated publication that became highly influential in the development of Neoclassical taste. D’Hancarville interpreted the representation of the young man as preserving an ancient memory of the origins of art, drawing upon an account by Pliny the Elder. Pliny recounts how, at Corinth, the daughter of a potter from Sicyon, wishing to preserve the likeness of her lover before his departure abroad, traced the outline of his profile from the shadow cast upon a wall by the light of an oil lamp. Her father, Butades—whom d’Hancarville refers to as Dibutades—was then inspired to reproduce the silhouette in clay, modeling it in relief. Pliny relates the anecdote in connection with the invention of modeling in clay, whereas d’Hancarville appears to have interpreted it more broadly as part of the legendary origins of painting. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related Paestan black-figured Pagenstecher terracotta lekythos, dated 340-225 BC, 15.5 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1772,0320.35. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s London, 1 October 2014, lot 93 Price: GBP 3,750 or approx. EUR 6,200 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A Paestan red-figured squat lekythos, attributed to the Asteas-Python Workshop, circa 350-330 BC Expert remark: Compare the related form, decorative motifs, with the head of a young male similarly rendered in profile, and manner of painting. Note the larger size (17.3 cm).