Magna Graecia, Apulian region of southern Italy, Gnathian, ca. 330 to 320 BCE. A remarkable pottery cup of unique form displaying a tiered, pedestal foot, a rounded bottom, a brief, corseted neck, and a flared rim, all enveloped in a lustrous black glaze. The interior is skillfully painted with fugitive red, white, and yellow pigments, creating a lovely ring of laurel leaf motif that encircles the rim, as well as a tondo bearing an abstract crisscross design at the center of the basin. The black glaze additionally boasts a gorgeous silvery iridescence. Size: 4" in diameter x 2.3" H (10.2 cm x 5.8 cm)
Gnathia ware is named for the site where it was first discovered - the Apulian site of Egnathia. The black glaze ware is traditionally decorated with floral motifs in red, white, or yellow hues. Scholars believe that its production most likely was centered around Taras, with primary workshops in Egnathia and Canosa. The quantity and quality of Greek colonial Apulian potters increased significantly following the Peloponnesian War when Attic exports dramatically decreased. Apulian artistry demonstrates influences of Ionian (Athenian, Attic) conventions, as well as Doric (western colonial Greek) styles, with a palpable native Italian aesthetic.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private T.G. collection, Williston, Florida, USA, #2851, acquired in 2000
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#167987
Condition
Collection label and number on interior of foot. Miniscule restoration to chip on rim. Small chips to exterior of rim, as well as expected minor nicks and abrasion throughout. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments and detail. Nice iridescence to black glaze.