- Russian Federation
Owl-skyphoi are a kind of mass-produced Attic red-figure vase of the 5th century BC, much studied by F. P. Johnson, J. D. Beazley, A. D. Trendall, O. V. Tugusheva, B. Kreuzer and others. Widespread in the Mediterranean, owl-skyphoi could... more
Owl-skyphoi are a kind of mass-produced Attic red-figure vase of the 5th century BC, much studied by F. P. Johnson, J. D. Beazley, A. D. Trendall, O. V. Tugusheva, B. Kreuzer and others. Widespread in the Mediterranean, owl-skyphoi could transmit all over the oecumene the imperial prestige of Athens. The non-authorized copies made in Corinth, Laconia, elsewhere in Greece as well as Magna Graecia allow us to assume that everybody could understand their connotations. The
simplicity of the standard depiction with the owl between a pair of olive twigs could be compared with any modern logo, understandable even without any details, communicated by visual or narrative means. However, the meticulous study of the owl-skyphoi allow us to discover separate series of them, painted at a particular time, in a particular workshop, by a particular hand and even depicting different small species of owls. It could represent a case study for an understanding of the interrelation of artistic minimalism and the deep-seated roots of folklore symbolism in a common form of red-figure vase painting in Athens of the 5th century.
simplicity of the standard depiction with the owl between a pair of olive twigs could be compared with any modern logo, understandable even without any details, communicated by visual or narrative means. However, the meticulous study of the owl-skyphoi allow us to discover separate series of them, painted at a particular time, in a particular workshop, by a particular hand and even depicting different small species of owls. It could represent a case study for an understanding of the interrelation of artistic minimalism and the deep-seated roots of folklore symbolism in a common form of red-figure vase painting in Athens of the 5th century.
Research Interests: Visual Rhetoric, Animals in Culture, Greek Vases, Greek mythology, Bosporan Kingdom, and 13 moreAncient Greek Cultural & Social History, Ancient Greek Colonies of the Northern Black Sea Shore, Attic red-figure vases, Vasology, Sir John Beazley, Tauric Chersonesos, Athenian Vase Painting, Chersonesos in Taurica, Animals in the ancient world, Greek vase painting, Vase painting and Iconography, Animals in ancient and medieval culture, and Shapes of Greek Vases
Front matter. In the article : ca. 30 specimens related to the Owl-skyphoi Class of Attic red-figure and Italiote derivatives. Both in Russian and in English translation.