Two Apulian Red-Figure Kantharoi attributed to the White Sakkos Painter,
ca. 310 BCE

Vessel 1, SIde A: a nude youth seated upon a drapery holding a patera in his raised left hand and a ball falling from his right hand.

Vessel 2, SIde A: a seated draped female holding a tympanon in her raised left hand and a grape cluster in her right hand. Side B: a winged female head wearing a decorated saccos.

Side B, both vessels: a winged female head wearing a decorated saccos.

Working in one of the Greek colonies in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, probably at Canosa, the White Sakkos Painter decorated vases in the red-figure technique in the late 4th century. He painted both large funerary vases such as loutrophoroi and kraters and smaller vessels, especially kantharoi and oinochoai.

As with most ancient artists, the real name of the White Sakkos Painter is unknown.  He painted mostly large pots, such as kraters and amphoras, but being a prolific artist, there are many smaller vessels by him as well.   He is identified only by the stylistic traits of his work that include the way he drew female breasts, faces in three-quarter view, the form of his wide-brimmed hats, and for which scholars named him, his use of white sakkoi (hair wrap) worn by many of the female figures he painted.

Trendall called this painter “the immediate successor and true heir of the Baltimore Painter”. The bright polychromy and effulgent decoration of his vases demonstrate his descent from the Baltimore Painter, a major exponent of the Ornate Style of Apulian vase-painting.

Reference: Cf. A. Trendall, RVAp II 967, 70; pl. 378, 6-7

Dimensions: Height: 10 3/8 inches (26.5 cm); Width including handles: 8 1/4 inches (21 cm)

Condition:  Vessel 1: Intact and in excellent condition overall, Vessel 2: Complete, foot reattached but otherwise in excellent condition overall.

Provenance: Ex. West German collection since the 1960s, thereafter private DC collection, acquired from Royal Athena Galleries, 2015.