ATTRIBUTED TO PASEAS, SIGNED BY THE POTTER PHEIDIADES, CIRCA 520 B.C.

Pasaes was an accomplished painter of the late Archaic Period who worked in both black and red figure. His name is known from his signature on a fragmentary black-figured plaque found on the Acropolis in Athens. Today he is best known as a specialist of red-figured plates, where, together with his contemporary Epiktetos, he created high quality works that display exceptional compositional balance and style (see p. 82 in M. Iozzo, op. cit.). In addition to plates and plaques, he also painted a few cups (kylikes and kantharoi), an alabastron and several lekythoi.

The form of the lekythos presented here and the placement of some of its floral ornament is quite unusual – note the molding below the echinus mouth, the circular shape of the handle, and how the shoulder palmettes also occupy part of the vessel neck. The body of the vessel has three revelers evenly spaced, on a net-pattern groundline. The central figure holds a barbiton and a plektron. There are traces of inscriptions in the field, palmettes and tendrils below the handles, a band of tongues high on the neck, and the potter’s signature on the vessel rim, "Pheidiades Epoiesen." Pheidiades’ name is also known from kalos inscriptions on two vases by Smikros (p. 90 in Iozzo, op. cit.).