Ancient Greece, Sub-Mycenaean Period, ca. 1100 to 950 BCE. A wheel-thrown pottery pyxis of a squat form with a series of concentric circles surrounding the slightly-concave base. A trio of applied loop handles rings the sloping shoulder, and a corseted neck expands upwards to a thick, flared rim. The pale-orange exterior is adorned with decorative register of abstract undulating feathers presented in dark orange-brown slip, with similar slip accentuating the handles and rim, and all having developed a faint silvery iridescence. Size: 4.4" W x 3" H (11.2 cm x 7.6 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 East Coast, USA collection; ex-Richard Wagner collection, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1960s
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#143468
Condition
Minor nicks to rim, handles, body, and base, with several small excisions, and light fading to some areas of original pigmentation, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits throughout.