This charming Greek black glazed small jug is decorated in red-figure techniques with a draped maenad running to the right, holding a wreath and a phiale, a large palmette with scrolling on the reverse beneath the handle, strokes at the neck, with applied white painted detail. The form of a squat lekythos features a distinctive rounded belly, a flat base, and a narrow neck with a loop handle, they were primarily used for holding oils. The feminine subject of this example indicates it was likely used for perfumed oils.
Provenance:
Richard Tully, New York, acquired at Parke Bernet
Sotheby’s New York, 10 December 1999, lot 367
American private collection, acquired from the above
Hindman, Chicago, 16 April 2019, lot 166
Greek cities along the coasts of southern Italy and Sicily regularly imported their fine ware from Athens but by the end of the 5th century BC they were acquiring red-figured pottery of local manufacture. As many of the craftsmen were trained immigrants from Athens, these early South Italian vases were closely modelled after Attic prototypes in both shape and design. The ancient Greek colony of Taras (modern Taranto, Italy) was the primary production centre for Apulian vases...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Greek Antique Ceramic Antiquities