Beschreibung:

CHERINTO DEL VECCHIO (ACTIVE C. 1820 - C.1840) A LARGE AND IMPORTANT VOLUTE KRATER IN THE GREEK STYLE
NEAPOLITAN, 1828
Glazed earthenware pottery, on pottery base with simulated variegated marble glaze, square plinth
vase 105cm high, 180cm high overall
Provenance:
Private collection, Naples
Exhibited
Saggi Dei Prodotti dell'Industria Nazionale, Naples, 1828, silver medal
Literature
G. Donatone, La terraglia napoletana (1782-1860), Naples, 2001, p. 97.
In 1753, Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, established the Real Fabbrica di Maioliche in Caserta, the first royal manufacture of glazed earthenware in the Southern Italian kingdom. Among the Real Fabbrica's chief figures was maiolica painter Angelo del Vecchio, whose repertoire was characterised by exquisitely naturalistic motifs, paired with rocaille and chinoiserie elements, matching the rococo taste of the period.
In 1776, two additional members of the del Vecchio family - brothers Gennaro and Nicola - were named in a payment document with the honorific title of "don", indicating they had reached a degree of commercial success and social standing. The renown of the del Vecchio manufactory by the late eighteenth century can be gauged by the fact that in 1785 King Ferdinand IV of Naples paid them 18,000 ducats to develop a formula imitating what was described as "English yellow ware".
In the nineteenth century the del Vecchio manufactory expanded its range and technical expertise, from fired clay that imitated veined marble to painted porcelain and glazed all'antica ware such as the present krater. They participated in various exhibition notably the Saggi Dei Prodotti dell'Industria Nazionale (Samples of the products of national industry) in Naples under the patronage of the Real Istituto d'incoraggiamento di arti e manifatture (Royal Institute for the Encouragement of the arts and manufactories). Gennaro del Vecchio is mentioned in exhibition catalogues up to 1810, while from 1812 his brother Nicola is listed as head of the family manufactory, followed in 1818 by Gaetano, who belonged to the next generation of del Vecchios. It was the latter who first promoted the creation of large vessels with decorative elements, initially gilt, such as the pair of marbleised vases with handles in the shape of the Hercules Farnese, now in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (Silver medal, 1818).
Sometime in the mid-1820s, Cherinto del Vecchio took over the manufactory and under his direction the production of vases imitating the antique flourished, alongside the more traditional one of creamware, as attested by the medals received by the fabbrica del Vecchio at the Naples exhibitions of 1826, 1828, 1836, 1838 and 1840. Such all'antica vessels responded to the antiquarian taste that had steadily developed since the rediscoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the first half of the eighteenth century, first pioneered in the field of Southern Italian earthenware by the Giustiniani manufactory.
The present krater is a striking example of Del Vecchio all'antica earthenware and can be identified with the vessel that won the silver medal at the 1828 exhibition. Priced at 120 ducats, it was described as "a vase of extraordinary size resting on a significantly marbled column in clay", the support that accompanies it to this day. Additionally, its style was catalogued as "imitating the Egyptians", the common definition at the time for wares with black figures over white backgrounds, which betrays the period's lack of understanding of the classification of ancient terracotta vessels, but also underlines the fact that they were prized for their emulation of sources from a distant land and past.
In actual fact, the colours used in the present krater imitate the white-ground vases first developed in Athens, predominantly in the form of funerary lekythoi, in the 5th century B.C. The shape of this vase is also based on ancient Greek models, specifically volute kraters, a type of vessel first popularised in 5th century B.C. Attica.
The central register of the krater depicts two battle scenes: on one side, warriors with helmets and shields advance beside a chariot carrying two standing figures drawn by two horses, and on the other, warriors on foot and on horseback engage in battle. Whilst a specific ancient prototype has not been identified, in general terms these scenes recall popular depictions of the Trojan war on Attic black-figure pottery, such as on a krater-kylix now in the Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Figures and animals similar to those on this vase appear in other del Vecchio wares, such as a plate depicting a centaur now in the Victoria & Albert Museum and plates from a set sold at Christie's New York in 2012. Among both del Vecchio and Giustiniani all'antica earthenware painted to echo the white-ground technique, the present krater stands out for its ambitious format, rich decoration, and fine quality. Its survival together with its original marbleised column represents a rarity and an important rediscovery.