Ancient Greece, Magna Graecia, Apulia, Canosan Hellenistic Period, ca. 3rd century BCE. A fascinating and rare ceramic figure, dynamically posed, featuring a masked actor and a woman. They stand side by side, looking forward at the viewer. The actor's masked face is turned upward in a huge smile, with the large size of the mask contrasting with the woman's delicate visage and slender frame. She is draped in a himation that flows over her body and appears to be blowing back around her legs, covering the actor's left leg. The actor's other leg is slightly raised and bent at the knee. One of his hands wraps around the woman's waist, while the other is pressed to his chest in a seemingly dramatic gesture. The woman has her right arm stretched outward, as if pointing towards something. Original white and pink pigment, with some hints of blue, remains on the surface. Size: 5.9" W x 7.4" H (15 cm x 18.8 cm)

Canosa was a wealthy city that only grew in importance after the Romans entered the area in the late 4th century BCE. Their ceramic workshops produced items that were exclusively used in funerary contexts, including many figures like this one. Although scholarly debate rages on the topic, it seems likely that the theatre inspired many of the scenes found on their tomb ceramics - implying that not just the very wealthy patronized the theatre in the Greek South Italic colonies, but that it was a form of pop culture enjoyed by a wide swath of society.

Provenance: private Marysville, California, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA, October 25, 2018, lot 39D; ex-East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#171121

Professional repair and restoration to maiden's right arm, bottom of dress, and actor's right leg. Losses to woman's left arm, left shoulder, and right hand. Expected nicks, pitting, and softening of finer details, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with great remaining pigments and deposits on surface.