Flaschen und Kännchen

Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth, 1883. Colour-printed lithograph by Ernst Wasmuth. Very good condition apart from a few skillfully repaired small tears at the edge of the bottom margin. From "Griechische Keramik", Genick's superb work on Greek ceramics. This beautiful plate depicts several red-figure bottles and jugs of various sizes and shapes.

The revival of interest in Greek ceramics was led by the travellers and cognoscenti who visited Greece and southern Italy in the mid to late-18th century. The Greek vase as an art form was first brought to the attention of an appreciative wider audience with the publication of a number of well-illustrated works on the collections of these dilettantes. The most notable of this group was Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), whose collection catalogue was published over a number of years starting in 1769. However, it was not until a century later that art historians felt they understood the full scope and history of ancient Greek ceramics in general and the superb work produced using the red-figure technique in particular. Genick was one of the leading authorities of his day on the red-figure vases: an architect by training, he had a passionate love for and deep understanding of this great Athenian pottery. His study, brought to realization by Wasmuth's superb chromolithographs, illustrates for the first time these masterpieces of the potter's life-size art.