Ancient Europe, northern Italy, Villanovan culture, ca. 7th century BCE. An opulent kyathos formed from buccheroid impasto to present an elegant form of a high-arching handle, a broad hip, a vertically ribbed body, and a raised rim. Beautiful, incised decoration forms rope motif lines and target motifs that adorn the base of the neck and the handle. The kyathos was developed as a dipper, and primarily made by the Greek workshop owner Nikosthenes in the second half of the 6th century BCE; it takes its name from the Greek verb kuein, to contain. Impasto ware is a rough, unrefined clay containing chips of mica - note how these chips cause the interior of this kyathos to shimmer in the sunlight! This is a very early example of a vessel shape that would later become highly refined by the Etruscans and then the Greeks. Size: 6.5" W x 4.4" H (16.5 cm x 11.2 cm)

The Villanovans inhabited Italy during the early Iron Age, and much of what we know of them comes from excavations of cemeteries (the first at Villanova near Bologna in northern Italy) where they cremated the dead and buried them in pottery urns in a very distinctive, double-cone shape. In the 8th century, Greek colonists arrived in the region, and began to influence Villanovan ceramics and their forms, as with this kyathos.

Provenance: private Rockville, Maryland, USA collection; ex-Harmer Rooke Galleries, New York City, New York, USA, MB Auction 28, November 25, 1987, Lot 27

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#180199

Some minor surface wear commensurate with age, but otherwise intact and excellent with impressive preservation to smooth surfaces and incised detail.