Chemical Investigation of Sicilian Red-Figure Pottery: Provenance Hypothesis on Vases from Gela (Italy)

The identification and location of Sicilian red-figure pottery workshops remain an unresolved issue in archaeological research. Recent studies propose various hypotheses based on the typological and stylistic analyses of the vases and on the distribution of the finds. This paper examines a corpus of red-figure vases from Gela (Sicily), dating from the late 5th to mid-4th centuries BC, attributed to prominent painters from Sicily and Magna Graecia. For the first time, a corpus of fourteen red-figures vases is subjected to X-ray fluorescence elemental analysis (XRF) to compare the results with established compositional data for fine ware Sicilian productions, including those from sites identified in the archaeological literature as potential red-figure workshop centers or areas with relevant attestations. The aim is to geochemically fingerprint the Gela corpus to assess its manufacturing origin and test the prevailing stylistic attribution hypotheses. The compositional similarity in the geochemical fingerprint of the studied corpus points definitively to a single, highly cohesive production area—namely the so-called “Strait of Messina” area, which is distinct from Siracusa which has been traditionally considered the main producer. This finding challenges the existing model of red-figure production in the region and strongly suggests the presence of a major, previously unidentified workshop center serving Gela.