Xenon genus
The xenon genus , also called xenon group , is a special group of Lower Italian ceramics . With this type of ceramics, the decoration with red clay was applied to the vessels, which were covered with a dark glossy shade .
The xenon genus was named after the inscription on a vessel that is now kept in the Liebieghaus in Frankfurt am Main . The illustration shows the preparation of the Xenon charioteer before an exit. This vase is one of the relatively few pieces with figurative decoration, mostly vases of this kind were only decorated with ornaments. Ornamental shapes such as ivy and laurel branches, rod ornaments, meanders and wavy lines are used for decoration . Animals or people are only shown very rarely. The painted vessels are generally very small in size. According to the decoration technique, the Xexon genus is reminiscent of Gnathiavases and the Red Swan group . The relationship to these two genres is unmistakable, especially to the latter there is a close connection. Since the research of John D. Beazley , the view has prevailed that the two groups should be considered separately from one another. Most recently, this judgment was questioned by some researchers and suspected a direct connection. For example, there is a very close match between the production and the painting style. The paintings of the xenon genus as well as the group of the red swan, unlike the vases of the Gnathia genus, are only done in red. There are also the already mentioned similarities in the use of ornaments. This is contradicted by the fact that vases of the xenon genus have been in existence since the end of the 5th century BC. Vases of the group of the red swan were not produced before the middle of the 4th century BC. Can be dated. A temporary parallel production in the workshops of Apulia and Peastums is therefore obvious. Research into these types of vases is not as advanced as other areas, such as Attic vase painting or the red-figure vase painting of southern Italy . The vases were produced over a period of around 100 years until the end of the 4th century BC. Chr.
literature
- EDG Robinson: The Xenon Group . In: Greek colonists and native populations. Proceedings of the First Australian Congress of Classical Archeology, Sydney 9-14 July 1985 . 1990, pp. 251-265 ( digitized version ).
- Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Frankfurt Vol. 4, Beck, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-406-38949-X , pp. 118-119.
- Konrad Schauenburg : Studies on Lower Italian vase painting . Volume 3. Ludwig, Kiel 2001, ISBN 3-933598-12-5 , pp. 36-43.
- Rolf Hurschmann : Xenon genus. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 12/2, Metzler, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-476-01487-8 , column 627 f.
Remarks
- ↑ Inv.-No. IN 54.
