A kalos inscription is a form of epigraph found on Attic vases and graffiti in antiquity, mainly during the Classical period from 550 to 450 BC. The word kalos (καλός), meaning 'handsome' or 'beautiful', was often accompanied by the name of a certain man, or sometimes simply by the word pais (παῖς), meaning the 'boy' or 'youth', without naming a particular person. The female version was kalē (καλή). The kalos inscriptions typically had an erotic connotation.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier
Kalos inscription in the context of Lysippides Painter
The Lysippides Painter was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. He was active around 530 to 510 BC. His conventional name comes from a kalos inscription on a vase in the British Museum attributed to him; his real name is not known.
Kalos inscription in the context of Antiphon Painter
The Antiphon Painter (fl. 495–480 BC) is the Notname for an Athenian red-figure vase-painter active in ancient Greece during the early 5th century BC. He owes his name to a double Kalos inscription of Antiphon on the dinos stand in the Antique collection of Berlin (Inventory number F 2325). He learned his handicraft in the workshop of Euphronios and Onesimos. There he worked closely with them, the Kalmarer Painter and other painters.
There are about 100 drinking containers of his (primarily kylikes) known to us. They almost exclusively depict the life of the aristocratic youth of Athens. They are shown as athletes, in symposia, in komos scenes, and with their horses or in arms. Representations of women – in particular Hetairai – are rare, as are mythological topics. When he depicts mythological subjects, they are usually the heroic acts of Herakles or Theseus. One of his bowls possibly refers to the Battle of Marathon (Orvieto, Collection Faina).