Magna Graecia, Southern Italy, Campania, ca. 360 to 320 BCE. A classic mold-formed pottery guttus (or guttos) with a rounded, ribbed body, a single loop handle with a shallow midrib, a high spout with an everted rim adorned with incised concentric rings, and a raised, tiered spool foot, all coated with a lustrous black glaze save for the underside of the foot. The tondo is decorated in low relief with the head of Medusa, the mythical female monster with venomous snakes for hair and a gaze which could instantly turn men into stone. The concept of a gorgon is at least as old as Homer and continued to be used as a monstrous symbol throughout the Roman and post-classical period, especially as decoration on pottery. Size: 4.6" W x 4.125" H (11.7 cm x 10.5 cm).
Exhibited in "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World", February 1 - March 31, 2019, Academy Art Museum, Maryland, USA, published in the exhibition guide by Sarah E. Cox and Anke Van Wagenberg, fig. 2.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; Exhibited and published in catalogue for "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World" (February 1 - March 31, 2019 - Academy Museum, Easton, Maryland, USA, p. 8, fig. 2, discussion on pp. 5-6.
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#146253
Condition
Minor nicks and abrasions to body, foot, handle, and spout, with chipping to glazing in some areas, and light excisions, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits as well as faint silvery and rainbow iridescence throughout. Old inventory label beneath foot.