An ancient Villanovan fine black impasto ware stamnos, with a domed lid surmounted by two conjoined rams. The body of the vase is biconical with a stemmed foot and two loop handles attached to the waist.
The so-called Villanovans (named after a modern town near Bologna) were the early Iron Age predecessors of the Etruscans. They are thought to have settled the area of Etruria, roughly modern Tuscany, in the 11th century BC. By the fourth century BC the Villanovans were assimilated by the Etruscans and overcome by the neighboring Gauls.
$9,500
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