Around 300 years ago, August the Strong began collecting painted antique vases in Dresden. Since then, enthusiasm and connoisseurship have seen the collection grow to about 2,000 vessels. This cabinet exhibition in the Semper Building at the Zwinger presents a choice selection of some 80 Greek and Southern Italian works, mainly dating from the sixth to the fourth centuries BCE.

For Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), the founder of classical archaeology and the discipline of art history, antique painted pottery vessels were “a wonder in the art and manner of the ancients”. He even compared the vase paintings with the drawings of Raphael. A wonder – this word implies something both miraculous and astonishing. And just as Winckelmann marvelled at the artistic skill of the painters of such vases, enthusiastic amateurs, connoisseurs, collectors, and researchers have for centuries been enchanted by these antique vessels with their harmonious forms, decorative ornamentation, and figural motifs depicting both everyday life and mythological scenes.

Come and explore the world of antique deities, heroic individuals, and delightful animals. Marvel at the sophisticated vessel forms, the finest painting techniques, and fascinating object biographies!