Greek colony of Apulia, Gnathian, named after the town of Ignazia in southeastern Italy, ca. 340 to 320 BCE. A beautiful and graceful pouring vessel used for dispensing precious oils, painted in the classic Gnathian manner, its deep black glaze painted post-firing in a lively palette of added fugitive red, yellow, and white shades with several registers of finely delineated decoration - including egg-and-dart, zigzag, dotted, lozenge, and nested "Z" motifs framing a central wide register of a leafy tendril with a lovely twelve-petaled flower at the center. A pair of masquettes further adorn the junctures between the handle and the spout. Its glossy black surface has attained a silvery iridescence with age. Size: 2.875" in diameter x 7.25" H (7.3 cm x 18.4 cm)

Gnathian ware is named for the site where it was first discovered - the Apulian site of Egnathia. The black glaze ware is traditionally decorated with floral motifs in red, white, 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.

Provenance: ex-Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000

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#158330

Body of vessel professionally repaired from multiple pieces with areas of restoration and some touch up to paint particularly below the handle. Handle repaired from about a half dozen pieces and reattached with restoration/repainting over the break lines. Nicks to high-pointed areas of spout. A small chip and minute nicks to periphery of base.