Baltimore, Hopkins AIA B4
Kylix by Phintias
520-510 B.C.
B 4. Baltimore Society AIA, formerly Hartwig Collection. Ht, 7 cm;
diam with handles, 25 cm; diam rim, 18.5 cm; diam foot, 7.4 cm. Mended from many
pieces.
Tondo is bordered by narrow reserved band. Youth stands in right
profile, a mantle thrown over his left shoulder, exposing only right shoulder
and breast. Vine wreath in hair. He has just arisen from a stool and leans
forward with both arms outstretched, money bag in left hand, fingers of right
hand extended, staff leaning against left shoulder. In front of him are a
skyphos, amphora set in a stand, and a kylix resting in rim of amphora.
Inscribed in field:
ΦΙΝ[ΤΙ]ΑΣ
ΕΓΡΑΦΣΕΝ ΧΑΙΡΙΑΣ ΚΑΛΟΣ.
Relief contour throughout, except at hairline. Dilute glaze for inner
markings and for fuzz on cheeks. Added red for wreath, cord on money bag,
lettering. Incised hairline.
Phintias belonged to the Pioneer group of red-figure painters, who
began work in the time of the Andokides Painter and continued into the late
sixth century. About seventeen vases of a variety of shapes have been attributed
to Phintias, seven of which, including this one, he signed as painter.
1
Phintias betrays his heritage from black figure in his use of
incision rather than reserve line to delineate the hairline. Also typical of
early red figure is Phintias's reliance on relief line, rather than dilute
glaze, for interior markings, and his penchant for the stacked pleats and
swallowtails seen in contemporary sculpture. Figures painted by Phintias can be
recognized by the length and pronounced curve of the eye, and by the almost
concave profile of the nose. Other characteristic features are the animated
contour of the hair and the long fingers and feet.
2
Bloesch suggested that many of the vases that Phintias painted were
supplied by the prominent potter Kachrylion, who also fashioned pieces for the
Kiss Painter.
3 Our kylix would indeed seem to be associated with Kachrylion, since the
bulge above the foot recalls Kachrylion's distinctive treatment of Type-C cups
having a plain lip.
4 The tall, slender stem and shallow bowl indicate that our cup is later
than an example in Boston that is signed by Kachrylion.
5
Besides being a painter, Phintias was also a potter. He signed as
potter one cup of Type-B shape and two aryballoi,
6 and several more cups have been attributed to him.
7 Recent study of the style of the painting and the profiles of the vases
attributed to Phintias has determined that Phintias worked in the same studio
with Euthymides and the Dikaios Painter, and that he trained several prominent
artists, including Kleophrades and the Berlin Painter, for whom Phintias may
have fashioned several cups.
8
Bibliography
Hartwig, RömMitt 2 (1887):169, no. VIII;
Wernicke 1889, 54, no. 2;
H. S. Jones, JHS 12 (1891):372-73;
Hartwig 1893, 172, pl. XVII.1;
Harrison & MacColl 1894, 18;
FR, 251-52, no. 1;
Pottier 1909, fig. 5;
G. Perrot, Histoire de l'art dans
l'antiquité (1882-1914), vol. 10, 464, fig.
265;
Hoppin 1917, 99-102;
Beazley 1918, 28;
Hoppin 1919, vol. II, 355, no. 2;
Pfuhl 1923, vol. 1, 441, and vol. 3, 119, fig.
384;
Richter 1923, 81-82, no.
5, fig. 85;
Beazley 1925, 57,
no. 2;
Philippart 1928,
50;
P. Cloche, Les classes, les métiers, le trafic
(Paris, 1931), 51, pl. XXXII;
CVA, USA fasc. 6, Robinson fasc. 2, 12-13, pls. II.1, III.2;
Schnitzler 1948, pl. 39;
Sparkes & Talcott 1958, fig.
12;
Bernhard 1966, fig. 86;
ARV2, 24, no. 14.
