Ancient Cypriot Terracotta Vessel

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Ancient Cypriot Terracotta Vessel

About the Item

Cypriot Bronze Age Terracotta Vessel circa 1850-1650 B.C. Belonging to a style known as White Painted Ware, this attractive teardrop-shaped vessel is a prime example of the dynamism and playfulness that characterises the works of the ancient Cypriot potters. Dating to the Middle Bronze Age (1850- 1650 B.C.) it features a combination of geometric and vegetal motifs in black and ochre pigment, with zig-zag forms around the rim, and a series of palm trees decorating the body, with two handles on either side. Interestingly, this vessel also has two holes on either end of the body, one of which is partially blocked with a horizontal bar. This unusual detail suggests this vessel may have been used as a strainer, and exemplifies the wide and inventive range of shapes and styles employed in Cyprus’ Bronze Age pottery. Examples such as this, which predate the introduction of the potter’s wheel to Cyprus, attest to the talent and patience of the Cypriot potters, and the symmetry and clarity of form they were able to achieve working by hand. Thanks to its rich natural resources, combined with its strategic position at the crossroads of maritime trade, Cyprus in the Middle Bronze Age began to grow increasingly wealthy and powerful. As a result, the period is marked by the emergence of a number of new coastal settlements across the island, trading timber, copper and opium with their neighbours across the Mediterranean, in exchange for luxury goods like gold, ivory and silver, found in the elaborate burials of the Cypriot Bronze Age elites. The Middle Bronze Age in Cyprus also saw the development of a much more diverse and extravagant array of styles in the ceramic arts, as the island’s growing wealth allowed for a larger, more dedicated, and highly trained class of artisans. This piece comes from the collection of textile magnate Louis-Gabriel Bellon, who assembled one of the most important private collections of antiquities in nineteenth century France. Himself an archaeologist, trained by Auguste Terninck in 1874, he conducted numerous excavations, firstly in Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and later in Rouen, expanding his collection of antique glasses, vases, and bronzes. After a triumphant exhibition of terracotta figurines from Tanagra at the Paris World Fair in 1878, Bellon began showcasing his collection to the French public. In 1884, he exhibited in Rouen, at the Palace of the Consuls, where his collection was celebrated as the most impressive component of the show. As well as a collector and industrialist, Louis-Gabriel Bellon was a painter, and a close friend of the important proto-Impressionist artist, Camille Corot. After his death, Bellon’s son Paul (1844-1928) continued to expand his collection and transformed the family home in Saint-Nicolas into a private museum worthy of his father’s taste and vision. Unfortunately, the Bellon home was bombed during the First World War, and part of the collection was destroyed, making the near-perfect condition in which this near-4000 year old vessel has survived even more extraordinary. “The ingenuity of the potters, or artists as they deserve to be called, of those remote times in devising new and singular shapes, and in adorning them with a variety of tasteful patterns, is certainly most remarkable.” Thomas Backhouse Sandwith, “On the different styles of Pottery found in Ancient Tombs in the Island of Cyprus” (1871) Height: 13.5 cm Provenance: In the collection of Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and Rouen Thence by descent.

Dimensions:
Height: 5.32 in (13.5 cm)Diameter: 4.97 in (12.6 cm)
Style:
Classical Greek (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Terracotta
Place of Origin:
Cyprus
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1850-1650 B.C.
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 429671stDibs: LU1052233010632