AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE ATTIC BLACK-FIGURE AMPHORA, ATTRIBUTED TO THE LEAGROS GROUP

Ancient Greece, Athens, circa 525-500 BC. Finely potted with torus foot and broad mouth, decorated on one side with the bearded Hermes in a long chiton and petasos, flanked by two nude dancing satyrs, the god’s caduceus with serpent heads above, one satyr reaching toward Hermes’ hat while a panther at the back seizes his tail, a third satyr bending down toward the beast. The scene framed by palmettes and lotus blossoms, tongues in added red and black above, and a frieze of bud arches and rays below.

On the reverse a farewell scene with two armed warriors, one a hoplite in a Corinthian helmet with high crest, the other with a conical helmet, standing beside a veiled woman in a long gown raising her hand in parting gesture, a dog at their feet gazing upward, and an elderly man behind them with staff and cloak, the details enlivened with added red, the handle zones with lotus and palmettes.

Provenance: La Reine Margot, Paris, France. An English private collection, acquired in the 1980s from the above and thence by descent to the last owner.
Condition: Good condition with ancient wear, some material fatigue and traces of erosion, all commensurate with age. Professionally reassembled from a few fragments with minor additions. Retouching is hardly visible on the exterior. A magnificent and exceptionally large vase, presenting remarkably well.

Dimensions: Height 45 cm

The amphora is attributed to the Leagros Group, one of the last important workshops of the black-figure style, which is known for its large format images on vases. It was a distinguished atelier of Attic black-figure vase painters active in Athens during the late sixth century BCE (ca. 525–500 BCE), and is conventionally named after several kalos (praising) inscriptions for the youth ‘Leagros.’ Though the red-figure technique was emerging in this same period (through the so-called Pioneer Group), the Leagros painters remained committed to black-figure.

The Leagros Group employed the black-figure technique, in which figures and ornaments were painted in a glossy slip on the natural clay body, then details were incised through the slip to reveal the lighter clay beneath, and finally the vessel was fired in a three-phase kiln process to achieve the distinctive black figures on a red background.

Literature comparison:
Compare two closely related attic black-figured neck amphora, dated to 515-500 BC, 44.5 cm and 42 cm (high), in the British Museum, registration number 1843,1103.69 and 1843,1103.14. Compare a closely related attic black-figured neck amphora, dated to 525-500 BC, 41 cm (high), in the Metropolitan Art Museum, object number 41.162.171.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 9 April 2024, lot 18
Price: USD 100,800 or approx. EUR 88,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Attic black-figured neck-amphora, attributed to the Leagros group, circa 520-500 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, attribution, style, decoration, dating and size (43.1 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 9 June 2011, lot 4
Price: USD 146,500 or approx. EUR 178,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Attic black-figured neck amphora, attributed to the Leagros Group, circa 510 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, attribution, style, decoration, dating and size (40.6 cm).