It was bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1972 for the then record-breaking price of $1 million, and is thought to have been excavated illegally in Italy in 1971. On the reverse are three Athenian youths arming themselves for battle. It is decorated on the front with a scene depicting the death of Sarpedon, who is attended by Hypnos and Thanatos with the god Hermes looking on. The Euphronios (Sarpedon) krater is a red-figure calyx krater made in Athens circa 515 BC, 46 cm high and 55 cm in diameter, signed by Euxitheos as potter and Euphronios as painter. In 2006, the Metropolitan restored ownership of the krater to Italy. It was bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1972 for the then record-breaking price of $1 million, and is now thought to have been excavated illegally in Italy in 1971. Through the introduction and removal of oxygen in the kiln and, simultaneously, the increase and decrease in temperature, the slip transformed into a glossy black color.The Euphronios (Sarpedon) krater is a red-figure calyx krater made in Athens circa 515 BC, signed by Euxitheos as potter and Euphronios as painter. At this point, the unpainted zones of the vessel became red again while the vitrified slip (the painted areas) retained a glossy black hue.
Finally, in the last stage, the vents were reopened and oxidizing conditions returned inside the kiln. Next, by sealing the vents and increasing temperature to around 900-950° centigrade, everything turned black and the areas painted with the slip vitrified (transformed into a glassy substance). At this point, the entire vase turned red in color. First, the temperature was stoked to about 800° centigrade and vents allowed for an oxidizing environment. Not only did the pots have to be stacked in the kiln in a specific manner, but the conditions inside had to be precise. To produce the characteristic red and black colors found on vases, Greek craftsmen used liquid clay as paint (termed “slip”) and perfected a complicated three-stage firing process.
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