Kotyle with a running hound, attributed to the Hound Painter

This cup is larger than most Protocorinthian vases, and the figure decoration is much bolder. The bounding dog is shown in the black-figure technique of silhouette and incision, with areas of added colour. The front of the animal is treated in greater detail than the back. An incised line divides the neck into two areas: the lower is painted with a warm, purplish-red clay, while the upper part was originally coated in yellow, though little of this now survives. Details of the dog's head, including the eyes, ears and muzzle are picked out with incision, as are the powerful shoulder muscles, the joints of the front legs and the claws. The tautness of the pose, the long, sweeping line of the back and the incised details combine to produce an impression of speed and strength. The abstract ornament is sparser than usual in Protocorinthian vase painting, but the dotted rosette in front of the dog, the lozenge above his back and the spiral below are all frequently found in contemporary work. These patterns, and the rays that rise in two rows from the base, were adopted into Greek art from eastern sources at this time.