Classical World, Etruria, ca. early 6th century CE. A stunning chalice with a slightly concave bowl and flaring, trumpet-shaped foot with a short, hollow stem. In the interior of the vase there is a deep groove separating the wide rim from the floor of the bowl. The vase is a lustrous black with a three-dimensional notched ring forming a flange around the base and 3 parallel striations incised horizontally along the exterior. A lovely risen band adorns the area just below the bowl, while several incised rings adorn the foot. Items like these were wheel-made, with a foot that was thrown separately on the wheel and joined to the rest of the vase as the two pieces began to harden. It was then burnished with a slip and fired in a reducing atmosphere to produce this glossy black color, which is the famous Bucchero style. Size: 5.9" in diameter x 6" H (15 cm x 15.2 cm)

This type of chalice was common during this period and seems to have been inspired by Assyrian chalices imported from the Near East a century earlier. This chalice almost certainly came from a funerary context, placed in an opulent Etruscan tomb as an offering. However, it was probably placed there because similar - or maybe even the same - vessels were used in life by the people of Etruria; items placed in the tomb were meant to be a link between the world of the living and the dead, and to help furnish a symbolic domestic space for the deceased. Therefore, it seems likely that chalices like this one were also used in everyday life for drinking wine or other beverages.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Mark and Lottie S. collection, Hartsdale, New York, USA, acquired in Paris in 1952; ex-Serge Boutin, Paris, France

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#164075

Collection labels on base. Nicks, chips, and abrasions throughout, commensurate with age. Repair and restoration to bowl. Otherwise, excellent.