In the fourth class we are introduced to a very interesting personality, that of Nikosthenes, the most prolific of all Greek vase-painters known to us, and of the B.F. artists by far the most original.[[1221]] He was, however, a potter rather than a painter, and on many of his vases the designs are little more than decorative motives. He favoured vases of metallic form,[[1222]] such as the phiale mesomphalos, and invented a peculiar type of amphora, also derived from a metallic origin, with broad, flat handles and slim body, with moulded rings dividing the subjects (see Plate [XXX].). Altogether, seventy-eight examples with his signature are known, of which forty-eight, or nearly two-thirds, are amphorae, nineteen are cups, four jugs, and one a krater. To these must be added two cups in mixed B.F. and R.F. technique, one made for Epiktetos, and three kanthari in the R.F. method, of which he was probably only the potter. That he had affinities with the “minor artists” is shown by his making a cup with Anakles, as also by the style of some of his paintings[[1223]]; while some of his cups have only the signature.
The amphorae are all very much alike, with subjects of a simple character—Sphinxes and Sirens, combats of warriors or boxers, Satyrs and Maenads dancing, and Herakles with the Nemean lion, a subject of which he seems to have been especially fond. The large krater in the British Museum (B 364) is interesting as an early example of the form with volute handles, and for the manner of its decoration, with a narrow band of minute figures on the neck only. In the Louvre there are two elegant jugs representing the reception of Herakles in Olympos (F 116–17), the figures being painted on a white slip in the Ionic manner.[[1224]] This point is important, because it has been held by many writers that Nikosthenes was of Ionian origin, and introduced the white-slip method at Athens. Attempts have even been made to connect him with Naukratis. The jug figured on Plate [XXX]. is similar to those in the Louvre, and is probably also Nikosthenes’ handiwork.[[1225]]
Whether this view can be maintained or not, there is no doubt that towards the end of the sixth century the practice of using a white slip does appear at Athens for vases with black figures, and it is quite reasonable to associate its introduction with a versatile and original artist like Nikosthenes. But the consideration of this style of painting must be reserved for a later page (p. [455]).
Pamphaios and Epiktetos, with their associates Hischylos, Pheidippos, and Chelis, must, on the whole, be regarded as belonging to the R.F. period, the majority of their works being purely in that style; they will therefore be considered under a subsequent heading. But the case of the remaining name in our fourth class, that of Andokides, is somewhat different. Among the signed examples we have from his hand only one is purely B.F., three are in mixed style, and two are purely R.F. It is clear, then, that he represents, better than any other artist, the intermediate stage between the two styles, more especially as a whole series of amphorae can be attributed to him in which the two are combined, sometimes in what has been called “bilingual” fashion—that is to say, that the design on both sides of the vase is identical, except for the variation of technique.[[1226]]
There are, then, six vases signed by Andokides, of which one is a kylix, the rest amphorae with designs in panels and broad grooved handles. The B.F. amphora represents a chariot seen from the front, in very minute, careful style.[[1227]] One of the “mixed” amphorae (Louvre F 203) has three Amazons preparing for battle (B.F.), and women in the bath, one of whom is swimming, another diving (R.F.) [[1228]]; the other, a Dionysiac B.F. scene, and Apollo, Artemis, Leto, and Ares on the R.F. side. The “mixed” kylix[[1229]] is a remarkable example of the counterchanging principle, the two halves of the exterior being exactly reversed in technique, the dividing-line passing under the handles.[[1230]] Of the two R.F. amphorae, one in Berlin represents the contest for the tripod and a pair of wrestlers; the other, in the Louvre, a combat and a musical contest.[[1231]]
PLATE XXXI
Amphora in Style of Andokides (British Museum).
Obv.: Heroes Playing Draughts.