Olpe with Lions and Panthers in the Getty Villa, June 2016

Pitcher with Lions and Panthers
Attributed to the Painter of Vatican 73
Greek, Corinth, 650 - 625 B.C.
Terracotta
12 15/16 x 6 11/16 in.
85.AE.89

Four friezes of animals decorate the body of this Corinthian black-figure olpe, or pitcher. The rows of slowly moving animals--lions, panthers, goats, deer, bulls, boar, swan--are typical choices for a Corinthian vase-painter in the second half of the 600s B.C. Rosettes surround and separate the animals. The animals and filling ornament are carefully drawn, and the vase-painter applied a large amount of added red color, which contrasts with the black of the glaze and the whitish color of the clay.

The olpe was a favorite vessel in this period among Corinthian vase-painters. In the early 600s B.C., Corinthian potters and vase-painters discovered the black-figure technique of pottery decoration. This new Corinthian pottery, with its simple and repetitive yet visually attractive and colorful decoration, completely took over the pottery market and was widely exported throughout the Mediterranean.

Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12923