Ancient Greece, Corinth, Archaic Period, ca. 7th to 5th century BCE; Near East, Holy Land, Roman Imperial Period to Middle Ages, ca. 1st to 8th century CE. A collection of 5 ancient pottery vessels including a long necked unguentarium jar, a pair of petite wheel-thrown pots, and a miniature skyphos, a dual-handled cup that was popular throughout Magna Graecia and was exported from Athens throughout the Greek world. The largest and possibly most interesting of the group is the terracotta incantation bowl fragment with black script encircling the interior. Bowls like this were traditionally buried face down to lure, catch, and disable demons and were typically placed underneath homes and around cemeteries. Also known as "demon bowls" or "devil-trap bowls," incantation bowls were evidently widely used; for example, nearly every excavated residence in the Jewish Iraqi settlement of Nippur had one buried under or around the premises of the dwelling. Size of incantation bowl: 5.5" Diameter x 3.25" H (14 cm x 8.3 cm)

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#154240

Incantation bowl is a fragment as shown and repaired from many pieces with visible break lines. Fading to script, but areas are still discernable. Missing handle and chips to miniature skyphos. Ungutarium is intact with heavy earthen encrustations on surface. Chips to other 2 bowls, but otherwise intact with light earthen deposits.