Greek Black-Glazed Ribbed Miniature Hydria (or Kalpis), Attributed to the Gnathia Ware School, Taranto, Apulia, c. 4th Century B.C.

(Black-Glazed Hydria)

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Item No.
31.36584
Culture
Taranto, Apulia, c. 4th Century B.C. 
Item Details.
Excellent state of preservation. The fabric and the profile are consistent with Tarentine production.

The hydria is the Greek water jar, and it takes its three handles from that function: two horizontal handles at the widest point of the body, used to lift the vessel and to steady it when carrying, and a vertical handle at the back for pouring. The kalpis is the later variant, in which shoulder and body run into one continuous curve rather than meeting at an angle. The present piece reproduces the shape at miniature scale, with rolled, upturned horizontal handles and a broad disc mouth on a narrow neck, the whole raised on a moulded foot with reserved edge.

The vase is covered in black glaze. The neck carries a running wave pattern in added yellow, below which the shoulder bears a band of ovoli with a row of dots above and pendent dots below, in yellow with touches of white. A white line closes the shoulder decoration. The body is finely ribbed throughout, the ribbing interrupted at mid-height by a further white line, and the lower body tapers to the foot.

Vases of this scale were made for the grave, and the form here has been adapted to serve as an unguentarium for the perfumed oil used in funerary ritual. The particular conformation of the mouth makes the point: the broad flat disc is made to be closed with the palm of the hand, so that the little vase could be inverted quickly and set upright again, leaving on the palm exactly the right quantity of oil.

A closely comparable example, similar in shape and in state of preservation but with simpler decoration, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. 41.162.224 (Rogers Fund, 1941).

Provenance:Private North France collection, acquired from Gallery Arteas.

Attribution verified by accredited archaeologist, specialist in Ancient Mediterranean Ceramics and Numismatics.

** Comes with a certificate from the Art Loss Register:

Size
13.3 cm H - 5 1/4 inches
Material
Terracotta 
Condition
Intact  
Categories
Live Auction 33
Price.
US$ 2000
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