Centuripe Class

Centuripe Class is a type of polychrome Sicilian vase painting from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

The Centuripe Class is named after ist main find location, Centuripe. The painted vases shapes were usually pyxides, lebetes and lekanes. The vessels are large, measuring about 50 cm in height on average. They are composed of separately made segments of orange clay. The paintings were only applied on one side, using tempera paints. They can include white, pink, black, yellow, red, gold, rarely also blue or green. The motif range is dominated by acanthus garlands and architectural friezes, as well as heads and busts. The repertoire of figural motifs is limited virtually entirely to women, erotes and weddings. The few exceptions include theatre scenes and gods, mostly Dionysos.

Bibliography

• Rolf Hurschmann: Centuripe-Gattung, in Der Neue Pauly Vol. 2 (1997), Col. 1069

External links

Example of a Centuripe Class vase in the Metropolitan Museum, New York