Attic Greek Black-Figure Oinochoe with Hero and Bull Combat Scene, Archaic Period, ca. 540–500 B.C.

A fine Ancient Greek Attic Black-Figure oinochoe (wine jug) dating to the Archaic Period, ca. 540–500 B.C. The vessel features a trefoil mouth, high-arched handle ending in a rounded knob, and an elegant elongated body typical of Attic oinochoai from the mid-6th century B.C.

The main register depicts a striding hero—helmeted and armed—engaged with a charging bull, a motif strongly associated with heroic combat in early Greek vase-painting. The scene is executed in classic black-figure technique with incised details and added red pigment emphasizing musculature, armor, and the bull’s powerful contours.

The field around the figures is filled with dot clusters and added white, another hallmark of mid-6th century Attic workshops. The neck is decorated with a frieze of vertical tongue patterns, while the lower body displays alternating black and reserved rays. The foot is proportionally small and typical of early Archaic production.

This oinochoe is stylistically consistent with painters active within the Leagros Group circle and related workshop traditions. Comparable examples appear in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, and the Beazley Archive Collection.

Ancient Greek, Attic, Black-Figure, Oinochoe, Greek Wine Jug, Archaic Greek Pottery, Greek Hero, Bull Fight, Battle Scene, Greek Mythology, 6th Century B.C., Greek Vase, Terracotta, Greek Ceramics, Museum Quality, Beazley Archive, Greek Antiquities, Magna Graecia Interest, Classical Artifacts, Trefoil Mouth, Black Figure Painting

Dimensions: H: 11 inches, D: 6 inches.

Surface wear and glaze loss consistent with age; scattered encrustation; abrasion on rim and handle; chip to the trefoil mouth; no visible major cracks or modern restorations; structurally stable.