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YOU ARE HERE:>> REAL or FAKE>>Is this genuine? Section 7, page 6

From Oliver

June 2012

I would like to ask about this Red figure askos.

Nicely done, good quality, the clay absorbs water quickly as you would expect from the genuine article. However, the illustration is raising a question or two - to my knowledge, the one animal has to be a Chimera - the style seems to be very similar to the one vase found in Canosa, decorated by the Darius painter.

What makes me wonder is, that the Chimera on the Askos has horns on the snake tail. To what I have read, the Chimera should have either a snake or dragon tail (possibly horned?) and a goat on her back. My problem is that the clay on the one hand probably indicates a genuine artifact and on the other hand the Chimera seems to be stilistically wrong (horns on the tail and the stylistic similarity to the Darius painter's work)... The patina on the base of the vase is easily removable and seems to be composed of earth with no mineralic encrustations.

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So the question is if it was really something like this? >>>>>>>>>>

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And used the famous Chimera vase of Darius at the museum in Naples as the inspiration.?

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I first thought they might be ears...but no, you are right: horns.

That's pretty unusual. The Chimera is not a horned beast.

(Actually, looking again after I put the pics here on the website, they may well be ears, not horns)

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The dragon- like snake tail is similar, though as you say, horned.

However probably "acceptable" I think.

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If this piece is not genuine and if the Chimera vase of Darius at the museum in Naples was the inspiration for way the Chimera is done they have moved the horns from the goat on the back to the snake! The fact that the goat has no horns is a bigger problem in the iconography as far as I'm concerned.

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The askos itself might be genuine so TL testing may not help.

(In  fact despite the "errors" it may well be entirely genuine of course.)

Can  you shine a UV light on it?

Does this painting fluoresce brightly?

Also,  maybe take a cotton bud Q tip soaked in acetone.

And see  if  any paint comes off when you dab it on a very small part of the painting. One needs to only "test" a pin-prick size of paint.

From Oliver  

Many thanks for your swift and very helpful reply. In regards to the Askos - I was referring to the horned snake head - I didn't bother about the horned lion head at first sight.

I totally agree with you that the missing horns on the goat are a problem indeed. I will try what you said and will see if paint comes off. Interesting thought about the Askos being geing but possibly repainted. I have a genuine Askos here which is totally undecorated, so this might be indeed possible. In regard to the dog like animal on the other side, I have thought about it being influenced by Orthos (being another sibling of Chimera) however lacking one head. It also could be the Teumessian fox..

From Oliver  

I just tested the Askos with acetone. Nothing comes off, neither the white nor the black. Even with serious rubbing, nothing can be done to the surface, it doesn't even get dull.

Sadly I didn't find an UV lamp, but when I get hold of one I will test the Askos again. You are more than welcome to use my photos on the website.

That's encouraging.

Hope others will comment on it too.

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Next page>>>>>>>>>>>