Magna Graecia, southern Italy, Apulia, ca. 340 to 320 BCE. An elegant kantharos (wine cup) with sweeping high handles, the flared cup's body on a high stem with a tiered foot. Each face of the exterior walls is adorned with a beautiful Lady of Fashion portrait wearing a saccos (head scarf) with pearl strands and hair pins, a drop earring, and a pearl necklace - all delineated in red-figure with added/fugitive white and yellow-orange paint. Size: 7.375" W handlespan x 7.875" H (18.7 cm x 20 cm)

A kantharos (also cantharus) is an ancient cup form used for drinking/holding wine, possibly for rituals or ceremonial offerings; its shape most likely derived from a metalwork form. This piece is an iconic example of what is known as Type A - characterized by a deep bowl, a tall pedestal foot, and a beautiful pair of highly swung handles extending far above the lip of the vessel. Scholars believe that the kantharos was also an attribute of Dionysos, the god of wine who was also associated with fertility. Hence, in addition to being used during festive banquets, such vessels may have been used in ceremonial rituals to symbolize rebirth.

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection acquired before 2000, ex Arte Primitivo

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#126257

Minor surface wear with two small chips to one handle, nicks to the underside of the base, rim, and interior, and tiny scuffs here and there. Upper section of lower applied thumb rest on handle reattached and repainted. Areas of craquelure and a few small losses to the glaze.