Classical World, Italy, Etruscan culture, ca. 768 to 264 BCE. A lovely ceramic kantharos, a deep vessel meant for consuming wine, displaying a carinated body with a rounded bottom and impressively thin walls that slant outwards to a wide, circular rim, all sitting upon a pedestal leg and discoid foot. A dramatic pair of ribbon-form handles span out from the rim to high arches and then end at base of the bowl. The upper end of each handle flares gently outwards where it meets the smooth rim, which is adorned by a pair of incised horizontal striations. This example has a flanged border between the body and the foot which displays dozens of incised grooves. Size: 8.9" in diameter x 5.7" H (22.6 cm x 14.5 cm)

The kantharos form can be traced as far back as the 8th century BCE, and in later times kantharoi were prominently featured as subjects on black- and red-figure vases, often carried by Dionysus or Herakles. Bucchero is a specifically Etruscan technique for firing pottery which results in a smooth, lustrous black glaze. This type of vessel may have been buried with offerings in the tombs of recently-deceased individuals, as was the case for much fine Etruscan pottery.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Mark and Lottie S. collection, Hartsdale, New York, USA, acquired in 1952; ex-Serge Boutin collection, Paris, France

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#167990

Old repair to small chip on rim. Expected nicks and abrasions throughout, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent and impressively preserved.