Ancient Greece, Mycenaean Period, Late Helladic IIIB, ca. 1300 to 1200 BCE. A wheel-thrown pottery stirrup jar of fine form and delicate decoration. The vessel presents with a carinated circular body, a pair of arching handles meeting at the rim of a central false spout, and a true spout off to one side. The soft beige and caramel hues of the jar are accentuated with coffee-brown linear, concentric circular, and abstract floral motifs. Size: 4.6" W x 3.75" H (11.7 cm x 9.5 cm)
This period is so named for the palace at Mycenae, famed in Homeric legend as the opulent seat of King Agamemnon. Excavations at the palace at Mycenae revealed an elite and long-lasting society with a great deal of wealth. This extended to the workshops of artisans who produced pottery like this vessel both for use in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean world; shiploads of similar jars went out as far as the Levant and Spain, carrying oil, wine, and other commodities.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Jeff Shore collection, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, acquired from an old Connecticut, USA estate in the 2000s
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#179554
Condition
Professional repair to handles, false spout, and rim of true spout. Minor abrasions and fading to pigment, with light earthen deposits inside of true spout, otherwise in excellent condition. Great preservation to painted decorations. Previous inventory label beneath base.