Fish dish. Magna Grecia, Apulia, 4th century B.C.

Fish dish. Magna Graecia, Apulia, 4th century BC.
Ceramics.
Provenance: Private collection, Germany. From the estate of Else Kienzle, a pharmacist from Stuttgart, who died in 2006 at the age of 94. Mrs. Kienzle was a passionate collector and presented, among other things, her works of pre-Columbian art. purchased at Galerie Valentin in Stuttgart or brought back from her numerous trips with Hauser between 1950 and 1970.
Bibliography:
-ARANEGUI GASCO, C. "Los platos de peces y el más allá". Complutum Extra in homage to Professor Manuel Fernandez Miranda. Complutense University of Madrid, 6-1. 1996. pp. 401-41.
-CANESSA, Ercole and SAMBON, Arthur. Vases Antiques de Terre Cuite: Collection Canessa. Bibliothèque du Musée. 1904.Paris. n. 141, p. 43.
-LEON, Lacroix. La Faune Marine dans la Décoration des Plats à Poissons. Etude sur la Céramique Grecque d'italie Méridionale. Verviers, Belgium. 1937. pl. XXIII.
-MAYO, M. The Art of South Italy, Vases from Magna Graecia. Richmond. 1982.
-MCPHEE, 1. and TRENDALL, A.D. Greek red-figured fish-plates. Basel. 1987.
-SCHEFOLD, K. UNTERSUCHUNGEN, Z.D. Kertscher vasen. Berlin. 1934. p. 138.
-TRENDALL, A DY CAMBITOGLOU, A. First Supplement to the Red-Figured Vases of Apulia. London 1983
-TRENDALL, A. D. Red Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily, London, 1989.
Attached thermoluminescence test.
Intact.
Measurements: 18 cm (diameter).

The fish dishes of Greek culture had their bottom embellished with the representation of three large fish. Usually the fish were made using the technique of red figures on a black background, thus creating a completely clear and discernible image that evidenced its function. On this occasion the artist delights in the detail of the gills, scales and fins.
Red-figure pottery was one of the most important figurative styles of Greek production. It was developed in Athens around 530 B.C., and was used until the third century B.C. It replaced the previous predominant style of black-figure 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.