Magna Graecia, Apulia, Canosan Hellenistic Period, ca. 3rd century BCE. A beautiful huge askos, a vessel with a flat shape and spout at one end, and a wide strap handle in the center. These vessels were produced specially for funerary purposes, and many have been found in the chambered tombs dug out of the bedrock that surrounds Canosa. The body of the vessel is painted with a series of designs: a hippocamp, half horse, half sea monster, with a grinning horse head wearing reins and harness at its top; a woman's bust from the neck up; and a full sea monster, a ketos, with a dragon-like head. The animals are finely rendered, with expressive faces and finely detailed bodies. The woman's face appears serious, with a hairstyle and jewelry style that calls to mind the Apulian "ladies of fashion", who we believe were representative of brides. She is surrounded by rosettes and we can infer that she is the deceased for whom the askos functioned as a grave good. Size: 10.25" W x 10" H (26 cm x 25.4 cm)

Canosa, or Canosion as it was known then, was a major center of the ceramics and pottery trade when it was a Greek polis. It produced truly unique pottery, completely different in decoration style (although not in shape) from earlier and neighboring traditions. The clay is buff, with the decoration applied directly to it without the use of slip. The entire body was covered with white slip, with a second ground of pink color applied over the background where designs have not been drawn. The iconography of this askos gives us an insight into the conception of death and religious feeling in Magna Graecia. The designs of the two sea monsters are echoed in many Canosan and other South Italic/Apulian funerary vessels, with the mythological figure of Scylla often featuring heavily, in some famous examples as an applique or protome. The hippocamp is also a common figure. Why? The sea was a major feature of Greek life, both connecting its people together and inspiring fear with its deep watery depths and hidden shoals full of unknown creatures. In the Odyssey, we learn of the vast range of sea monsters who inflicted terror upon the ancient Greeks. Perhaps here they represent the unknown of the grave.

Provenance: Ex - Important LA County collection acquired from German dealer before 2000

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#116414

Repaired from about ten pieces; no appearance of repainting. Decoration is largely clear, with excellent detail remaining on the animal and human figures.