Protocorinthian Oinochoe (Heidelberg 69/4)
With the Proto-Corinthian oinochoe , the collection of antiquities at Heidelberg University has an outstanding piece of Corinthian ceramics under inventory number 69/4 .
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The large, bulbous oinochoe with a trefoil mouth has a height of 29.8 centimeters and a maximum diameter of 21.6 centimeters. The vessel is largely intact, only the handle was glued, a red dot was added, the mouth is slightly bumped and the painting is a bit rubbed on one side. Roland Hampe described the piece as a “masterpiece of pottery” because of its balanced proportions. The painting is of similar quality. The main motif is - apart from a small area decorated with rays above the foot and the vase shoulder with isolated rosettesand the tongue band following upwards - a scale pattern distributed over the entire stomach. The scales are filled with color and, due to their coloring, form larger yellow and black rhombuses , which in turn are filled with smaller red rhombuses and have a black scale point in the middle as a central motif. The repeating geometric pattern creates a striking visual effect. The neck and muzzle, like the shoulder band, are black and filled with dot rosettes lined up at larger intervals. The base of the triple profiled handle and the rotelles are also decorated with this pattern. The tongue pattern on the shoulder is three-colored like the scale pattern. Two purple tongues were always followed by a black tongue, in the center a golden tongue, then again a tongue in black and two in purple. The stand ring is reminiscent of metal models. There are two rings of varnish on the underside of the foot.
The black coating is of great quality and creates a very deep black that contrasts perfectly with the opaque colors. The scale edges are formed by two concentric semicircles and may have been made with a double circle. The puncture points of the compass can still be seen. Such scale patterns are quite typical for the transition period from the Proto-Corinthian to the Corinthian style, but unusual in this form for jugs of this size. In general, only smaller pitchers were decorated with this pattern as the main motif, while with pitchers of this size it served as a design element alongside figurative images, mostly animal friezes.
The jug was acquired in 1969 by Roland Hampe at the art and antiques fair in Bern from Heidi Vollmoeller, a niece of the painter Hans Purrmann , for the Museum of Antiquities of Heidelberg University. It is around the year 630 BC. Dated.
literature
- Roland Hampe : Protocorinthian jug. In: The same and collaborators: New acquisitions 1957 - 1970. (= catalog of the collection of ancient cabaret of the Archaeological Institute of Heidelberg University, Volume 2), Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1971, pp. 21-22.
