Apulian Gnathia Skyphos

An ancient Apulian Greek Gnathia ware skyphos of the St. Valentin class with alternating vertical panes of fern frond and ivy vine in applied white, separated by panes of diagonal lines in dilute glaze and a laurel band below.

Apulia, Magna Graecia.
Ca. 350 - 300 BC.
Height: 2 7/8 in. (7.1 cm).

Gnathia ware is so named as it was first found at the Apulian site of Egnathia. The black glaze ware is often decorated with applied red, white, or yellow painted floral motifs. Production probably was centered around Taras, with workshops in Egnathia, Canosa and Sicily. The output and quality of the Greek colonial potters working in Southern Italy increased greatly following the Peloponnesian War when Attic exports fell off sharply. South Italian Colonial Greek craftsmanship of the 4th century BC was an amalgamation of the Ionian (Athenian, Attic) conventions, and Doric (western colonial Greek) styles, with a noticeable native Italian aesthetic. The five predominant regional schools of South Italian pottery were: Apulian, Sicilian, Lucanian, Paestan, and Campanian.

Formerly in the collection of Jerome Eisenberg, New York; acquired at Christie's, New York, June 14, 1993, lot 54.
Inv#: 9416
Guaranteed Authentic

$2,750

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