Functional

Until recent times, most art was not created as “art for art’s sake.” Rather, decorative designs were used to adorn spiritual, ceremonial and every day, functional and didactic items. Local craftsmen, artisans and production centers created aesthetically pleasing personalized objects for daily use for the joy of it and to please gods and deities often using symbols believed to imbue them with auspicious powers. Common utilitarian objects included dishes, utensils and vessels for eating, cooking, storing or pouring foods, liquids or precious items (perfumes, oils, wines etc.) as well as tools, instruments, weapons and agricultural and weaving implements. These objects reflected the status, financial resources and interests and proclivities of the user or the person commissioning the objects. The VA collection highlights the unique and decorative appeal of these items. Ancient pottery, metalworks, carvings and other utilitarian pieces ranged from plain to highly decorative. Chinese craftsmen produced home items to promote fu to enter the house and Burmese hand looms and oxcarts were topped with carvings to protect the user in the hope that works of high quality would be created. Whatever their intended use or nature of their designs, utilitarian art and artifacts reflect unique skills and provide a sense of comfort and personalization of the environment or culture in which they were made.

Showing 1–12 of 24 results

  • Sale!

    Ancient Terracotta Oenochoe (Wine Jug), Roman North Africa #3197A

    Original price was: $275.00.Current price is: $225.00.
    H: 4.5”  W: 3”  D: 2.75” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S. !

    Small wine jugs were made in the Roman North Africa territory called Africa Proconsulares and exported throughout the empire. Made and decorated with ribbing and a single handle on a potters wheel it was fired in a kiln.  Simple and unadorned functional objects called coarse wears were made everyday use and to make offerings to deities using inexpensive long-lasting materials.  Very good example of pouring vessels from ancient history throughout the Roman Empire.

  • Ancient Daunian Earthenware Cup, Magna Graecia, Italy (1789LME) $595

    $595.00
    H: 3”  W: 4.75”  D: 4” | FREE SHIPPING IN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This Daunian style earthenware cup was produced in the ancient northern Italian region Apulia, then known as Magna Graecia, from the 6th or 5th centuries B.C.E.. It was covered with beige slip and painted with red, brown and black earth colors in a variety of geometric patterns. Its curved rim and high handle was ideal for pouring liquids like water and wine.  The handle may have been repaired as there is an uneven slip underneath it or may have been attached it was painted but it is otherwise in very good condition.

  • Sale!

    Ancient Earthenware Carinated Flagon, Roman North Africa #3191BLB

    Original price was: $775.00.Current price is: $495.00.
    H: 4.5”  W: 3”  D: 2.75” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This Roman ceramic flagon is a uniquely shaped vessel used to store and pour potable liquids. A crème slip carinated jug with a high profile and a trefoil pouring spout, it has a strap handle attached from the carinated edge to just below the rim for easy handling. Roman coarse wars like this were use for liquids and to make offerings to household deities.

  • Sale!

    Ancient Earthenware Jarlet, Roman North Africa #3195A

    Original price was: $225.00.Current price is: $184.00.
    Ht: 4.625″  Dia: 3.625” |  FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    Most small utilitarian pottery jars like this one made in Roman North Africa were either a perfume, oil, ointment or cosmetic jars. This wheel made vessel has grooved furrows etched on the surface while the object turned on the wheel. Made without frills for durability, the slip made it less porous.

  • Ancient Glazed Ceramic Han Wing Cup, China (1009BOH) $450

    $450.00

    Wing or ear cups (yushang), a term that describes its side flange-like additions to its ovoid body, appeared as early as the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE) made in lacquer and later from a variety of materials. Lacquerware cups were used as dining vessels used for rituals and ceremonies contain fragrances, food or wine; and the…

  • Ancient Lekanis Dish, Magna Graecia (3247BHK) $575

    $595.00

    This ancient pottery lekanis is from Apulia in Magna Graecia, the Roman name for the South Italy coastal area colonized by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C.E. Greek settlers arrived with their Hellenic culture intact and had much influence on Italian civilization. A lekanis was a highly decorated low shallow bowl with close-fitting top…

  • Ancient Ribbed Oinochoe Wine Jug, Roman North Africa (3197B-EKB) SPECIAL PRICE

    $295.00
    Ht: 6.25”  W: 3.25”  D: 2.75” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S. !

    Made in Africa Proconsularis in Roman North Africa and shipped throughout the Roman Empire, this small pouring vessel was made of inexpensive and long-lasting materials and was called coarse wear for everyday use.  This earthenware jug is elegant in its simplicity – tapered  and undecorated except for horizontal ridges, curved single handle, simple rim at the mouth and crème clay slip. It was made using a potters wheel, seen by the circle marks on the bottom and the uniform ribbing. A fine small piece of history.

  • Sale!

    Ancient Terracotta Beaker, Roman North Africa #3195B

    Original price was: $325.00.Current price is: $235.00.
    H: 2.675”  DIA: 3” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This simple ancient small earthenware bowl was made in Africa Proconsularis, the Roman North Africa pottery center and distributed throughout the Roman Empire. With no handle, this beaker is beautiful in its simplicity resting on a short foot, a body that curves up and rises to meet a neck and is topped with an everted rim to lessen spillage  Made for daily use, this Roman coarse wear has a wide mouth for easy drinking and a rim with light terracotta red and its crème slip with an exquisite shape.

  • Sale!

    Ancient Terracotta Platter with Stamped Designs, Roman North Africa #3186

    Original price was: $465.00.Current price is: $365.00.
    H: 1.625” Dia: 10.125” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    A fine ancient Roman platter produced for upper classes, this is refined and delicate and has stamped decorative images in complex circles.  Although rough areas with small losses remain, it is an ancient piece otherwise in very good condition that, especially considering its age and use, remains a remarkable surviving piece of history.

  • Antique Blue and White Porcelain Miniature Ewer, China (4056B-DKM) $135

    $135.00
    H: 5.25″ W: 4.625″ D: 2.375″ | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This charming miniature ewer or small pitcher was made during the Tongzhi Period and probably used in a restaurant or home kitchen as a dispenser for soy sauce, oils or other liquids. With an elegantly curved spout and handle it is covered with chrysanthemums, plantain curved vertical leaves and bindweed vines. The lid has a lotus shaped bud for lifting, and the bottom has a Chinese antique export seal.

  • Antique Blue and White Porcelain Scholar’s Brush Holder, China (1933A-DOK) SPECIAL PRICE

    $255.00
    H: 3.25”  Dia: 3.25” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This is unusual piece was likely on a scholar’s desk along with pots, brushes, water droppers, boxes, ink stones and other daily used objects used for a variety of tasks: a brush holder, a paper weight and more.  With its round body covered with the landscape of a Chinese village, mountains and seas and the calligraphic name of the scholar owner Shu Dai Ji (舒逮吉) it would be perfect for placement on any style desk or in a study.

  • Sale!

    Antique Carved Coconut Grater/Fruit Cutter, India #9225D-UKH

    Original price was: $250.00.Current price is: $185.00.
    H: 5.125″  W: 21.5″  D: 9″ | CALL 213-568-3030 OR EMAIL [email protected] FOR SHIPPING

    Hand carved coconut cutters were commonly used in Asia to facilitate the difficult task of extracting all parts of a coconut which were routinely used. Carvers made unique and functional folk art tools using local artistic motifs in nature. This carving with its intricate circular patterns surrounded by florals impart a warm and rustic feeling that would be a special decorative addition to any style kitchen and an interesting conversational piece.

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