Magna Graecia, Southern Italy, Apulia, near Ignazia, ca. 340 to 325 BCE. A beautiful pottery pouring vessel known as an epichysis, boasting lustrous black glaze and possessing a characteristically spool-shaped base, a slender spout, and a tall, arching loop handle with applied matching lion head maskettes adorning the areas where the upper handle end meets the spout. The body of the vessel is skillfully hand-painted with an ornate decorative program of white and orange fugitive pigments. First, the lower body features a horizontal band of key motif with parallel striations above and below. A lovely circle of vertical lines then adorns the outer edge of the shoulder. The inner part of the shoulder showcases a gorgeous ivy design followed by a row of dots and a register of vertical striations that travel up the lower part of the neck. Size: 3.9" in diameter x 6.6" H (9.9 cm x 16.8 cm)

Gnathia ware is named for the site where it was first discovered - the Apulian site of Egnathia (also Gnatia, Egnatia, Ignazia). The black glaze ware is traditionally decorated with floral and other decorative motifs in red, white, and/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.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession numbers 69.11.68 and 1971.11.3

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex private T.G. collection, Williston, Florida, USA, #2084, acquired in 2000

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#168068

Repairs to spout and handle with some restoration. Some expected nicks in areas. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments.