Pelike (Storage Jar)
about 510-500 BCE
Medium
terracotta, black-figure with applied paint
Dimensions
H.: 34.9 cm (13 3/4 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
158
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This ancient storage vessel is decorated in the black-figure technique, which was developed in Corinth and used widely during the Archaic period (700–480 BCE). Gloss, a slip made from refined clay, was applied to all areas intended to be black. For the figural scene the silhouettes of the figures and other elements were painted in gloss, sometimes following the lines of a preliminary sketch scratched into the surface. Using a sharp tool, the artist created details by incising through the gloss t...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...