Cypriot Bronze Age Jug

View Similar Items

Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol

Cypriot Painted Terracotta Storage Vessel

Small Mid-Century Brutalist Bronze Jug

Tall Mediterranean Contemporary Ceramic Vase, Cyprus

Pair of Antique Cyprus Engraved Gourds

20th Century Bronzed Anatolian Pitcher Jug

1940s Vintage Industrial Aged Bottle Vase Jug in Patinated Copper USA

Large Cypriot Brown Ware Storage Jar Olla

Vessel No. III in Aged Bronze

Vessel No. VII in Aged Bronze

Vessel No. II in Aged Bronze

Two Large Rococo Style Porcelain and Gilt Bronze Jugs

About the Item

Cypriot red polished ware tripod pot Early bronze Age, circa 2100-1800 B.C. Terracotta With old labels reading ‘Chypre’ and ‘No. 316’ Measure: height: 9 cm This tripod vessel from Ancient Cyprus is a charming testament to the talent and playful sensibility of the island’s bronze age artisans. The pot is decorated with finely incised diamond-shaped patterns across the body, with a series of lines circling the neck as it flares toward the lip. Pieces such as this belong to a style known as Red Polished Ware, popular during the Cypriot Early and Middle Bronze Age, achieved by applying an iron-rich slip and burnishing the clay with a stone, producing a wonderful, glossy ochre finish, thanks to which the technique seems to have survived in Cyprus long into Antiquity. In his Bibliotheca Historica, Diodorus Siculus, a 1st Century B.C. Greek historian, records: ‘The people of Cyprus have many arts and crafts, but their most famous product is their pottery. They burn their pottery carefully and, after polishing it with a hard stone, make it shining and beautiful.’ The effect is one of understated elegance, all the more impressive when one remembers that vessels such as this example predate the introduction of the potter’s wheel to Cyprus, and that their makers were able to achieve this kind of clarity of form working only by hand. This type of pottery was brought to Cyprus from Anatolia, at around 2400 B.C., by an enigmatic people referred as the Philia Culture, known mostly from their ceramic works, characterised by their diverse and innovative designs, and decorative geometric motifs. Alongside this, these settlers also introduced technologies like mud-brick buildings, bronze smelting, and the weight- ed loom. Many vessels like this example have been unearthed from burial grounds, demonstrating that they were not only everyday household objects, but treasured possessions, which would perhaps accompany their owners into the next life. Certainly, these Cypriot terracotta works were highly prized in their contemporary world, exported all across the Mediterranean Basin, and would later find homes in some of the most illustrious collections of the 19th Century. In the words of prominent Victorian collector, Thomas Backhouse Sandwith, “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.’ (‘’On the different styles of Pottery found in Ancient Tombs in the Island of Cyprus”, 1871) This particular piece comes from the collection of textile magnate Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), who assembled one of the most important private collections of antiquities in 19th 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, much of his collection was lost when the museum was destroyed in the First World War, making the near-perfect condition in which this 4000 year old vessel has survived all the more extraordinary. Provenance: Collection of Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and Rouen. Thence by descent.

Dimensions:
Height: 3.55 in (9 cm)Diameter: 2.37 in (6 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Ceramic
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
circa 2100-1800 B.C.
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 429661stDibs: LU1052233421722

More From This Seller

View All

Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol

Located in London, GB

Cypriot Plank Idol Early Bronze Age III - Middle Bronze Age I, c. 2100 - 1850 BC. Low fired burnished earthenware pottery with lime-filled incisions A Cypriot plank idol, an iconic form of human representation from Bronze Age Cyprus...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Cypriot Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol

$150,000

Free Shipping

Late Bronze Age Sword

Located in London, GB

Saint Nazaire Sword, Late Bronze Age, circa 800-900 B.C. An exceptionally well preserved Bronze Age sword, with elegant, finely incised decorations,...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Late Bronze Age Sword

$75,000

Free Shipping

Ancient Greek Perfume Bottle

Located in London, GB

Athenian Black-glaze perfume pot with inscription Athens, c. 425-400 B.C. Terracotta Measures: Height: 9cm; diameter across lip: 7.5cm; width including handle: 9cm This 5th Cen...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Greek Bottles

Materials

Pottery

Ancient Greek Perfume Bottle

$8,500

Free Shipping

Ancient Greek Black Glaze Kantharos Wine Cup

Located in London, GB

Greek Black Glaze Kantharos Circa Early 4th Century B.C. Terracotta With old label reading ‘No. 133’ Height: 8.8 cm This 4th Century B.C. kan...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Classical Greek Vases

Materials

Ceramic

Ancient Greek Black Glaze Kantharos Wine Cup

$6,000

Free Shipping

Erotic Ancient Greek Wine Cup with Painted Eyes

Located in London, GB

A rare, erotic cup exemplifying the revelry and humour of ancient Greek culture, particularly within the context of symposia - the social drinking parties of the elite. This wine cup...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier European Classical Greek Vases

Materials

Pottery

Erotic Ancient Greek Wine Cup with Painted Eyes

$47,495

Free Shipping

Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Discus Thrower

Located in London, GB

A remarkably fine example of Archaic sculpture. A figure of a discophoros, or discus bearer, standing with his right leg forward, gripping a discus in his right hand, the left arm raised with an open palm. Described with admiration in Münzen und Medaillen's 1961 auction, "The figure is a masterpiece and illustrates with rare vividness the essence of good Etruscan sculpture...

Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Discus Thrower

$155,000

Free Shipping

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Vases

Materials

Terracotta

Cypriot Painted Terracotta Storage Vessel

$950

Small Mid-Century Brutalist Bronze Jug

Located in Dusseldorf, DE

A small decorative German brutalist jug made of bronze. 1960´s. Dimensions Height: 13 cm / 5.11 inch. Diameter: 12 cm / 4.72 inch. Weight: 3,68 kg

Category

Vintage 1960s German Brutalist Vases

Materials

Bronze

Small Mid-Century Brutalist Bronze Jug

$137

Tall Mediterranean Contemporary Ceramic Vase, Cyprus

Located in Copenhagen, DK

Tall contemporary minimalist ceramic vase handmade in Cyprus. Unglazed exterior with handcarved incised relief stylized organic decor with caramel br...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Cypriot Classical Greek Vases

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery, Stoneware

Tall Mediterranean Contemporary Ceramic Vase, Cyprus

$401 Sale Price

30% Off

Pair of Antique Cyprus Engraved Gourds

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Cyprus has a long history of gourd art, they were used to carry water and wine, here are two 19th century prime examples of the art form hand engraved with geometrics, animals, ships...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Cypriot Victorian Vases

Materials

Natural Fiber

Pair of Antique Cyprus Engraved Gourds

$5,750 / set

20th Century Bronzed Anatolian Pitcher Jug

Located in London, GB

This 20th-century bronzed Anatolian pitcher jug is a remarkable vintage piece that brings the elegance of Turkish craftsmanship to any rustic, Mediterranean, farmhouse, or cottagecor...

Category

Vintage 1950s Turkish Rustic Vases

Materials

Clay

20th Century Bronzed Anatolian Pitcher Jug

$386

1940s Vintage Industrial Aged Bottle Vase Jug in Patinated Copper USA

Located in Chula Vista, CA

Vintage Industrial patinated copper aged bottle jug vase, USA, 1940s Original unrestored vintage presentation. Vintage patina condition. Nicks dents and sc...

Category