Ancient, Xenon Ceramic Vessel, Magna Graecia, Italy (1368LME) $495

Description

This ancient wheel-thrown pottery was made in the Greek colonies, Apulia, Magna Graecia in Southeastern Italy and dates from the 4^th century B.C.E.  Magna Graecia is the Roman name for coastal Southern Italy colonized by Greek city-states and first named by the Roman poet Ovid in his poem Fasti. These settlers brought their Hellenic culture, which had a great effect on Italian civilization. The pottery type name is derived from a vase in Frankfurt inscribed with the name Xenon. Xenon ware is characterized by matte pale orange-red and salmon decoration over a rich black glazed terracotta body fired from red clay.This elegant diminutive vessel is decorated with a painted geometric meander across the body, a band of tapering vertical lines on the shoulder and a thin line below. It sits on a flat short foot with an applied handle. Some suggest these vessels diminutive size made them easy for children to handle, may be a toy and propose they are miniatures, while others believe they were used for votive purposes. The shape may be derived from ancient Greek olpe, a pottery vase with a rim and no spout, making it more useful for drinking than for pouring. As is usual with pieces over two millennia old, there is some fading of the painted decoration and small chips in the black glaze which reveal the color of the red clay body. However, this piece is in good condition given its age with no discernible repairs or restorations.