This is a truly amazing bowl from Cyprus, dating to the Early Bronze Age around 3900-4700 years ago! It comes from the famous collection of Desmond Morris, was published and exhibited in a museum. This heavy mottled bowl belongs to the class of red polished ware; the clay was covered with red slip which was then burnished to produce a high polish. It is shallow and has a rounded base. There are two lugs on the rim and a third lug, pierce horizontally, below one of these; The rim lug on the opposite side was pierced vertically twice. And this extra feature is most wonderful; when you turn the bowl over, this third lug suddenly changes into a human face! The shape of the face and the nose are indicated in relief, the two piercings become the eyes, and two small incisions below become the nostrils!
It is this type of extra that makes collecting antiquities so special and also so personal; more than 4000 years ago someone created this face and now, after all these years, it is still staring at us; it feels almost as if one can bridge the time gap and is in touch with the ancient artist, right across the ages.
The object is part of a group which Desmond Morris describes as vessel; attached figures, part of the so called ‘plank figures’; C. Morris, 1985, P. 153 -157.
Provenance: Ex. Collection Desmond Morris (DM-MRP/29= Desmond Morris; Mottled red polished ware 29 (Christies London 14 may 2002, Lot 4) then collection of collection Pietro Villari. - 255mm,938gr - ca.2700-1900BC - Provenance: Ex. Collection Desmond Morris (DM-MRP/29= Desmond Morris; Mottled red polished ware 29 (Christies London 14 may 2002, Lot 4) then collection of collection Pietro Villari. - All items come with Free International postage, accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authenticity .