Gnathia vases

Gnathia vases are a type of pottery belonging to ancient Apulian vase painting of the 4th century BC.

They are named after the ancient city of

Initially, a broad palette of paints, including white, yellow, orange, red, brown, green and others, was used, but after 330 BC the extensive use of white paint dominated. At the same time, the thematic range was reduced, limiting itself to tendrils of vine, ivy or laurel, theatrical masks, and, within the tendrils, male and female heads, doves and swans. The lower half of the vessels was now often ribbed. Apart from oinochoai, skyphos and pelikes, shapes also included bottles, lekythoi, bowls and kantharoi. The most important painters of this phase are the Painter of the Louvre Bottle and the Dunedin Painter.

The final phase, of about 25 years, is marked by a return to figural painting, predominantly depicting erotes. Kantharoi and bowls with painted-on handles are now the main shapes. Ribbing is still in use, as is the copious application of white paint, now with yellow added for shading.

Unlike local red-figure pottery, South Italian Gnathia vases were also traded to other regions of the

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