Daunian Ring Handled Pottery Askos

SKU: MS.0156

Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: 6th Century BC to 3rd Century BC
Dimensions: 5" (12.7 cm) Height
Medium: Terracotta

A lovely askos of the rare ring handle type, this vessel features a distinctive array of design elements typical of Daunian ceramic vase painting. It is decorated in red and brown with a band of key amidst broad and narrow horizontal lines on the upper portion of the body. The flat disc rim features various geometric circular elements around the mouth while the neck is ringed with horizontal bands. One register of which features vertical lines and quadripartite box filled with both large and small dots. Four pairs of concentric circles decorate the lower body.

$5,000.00

with Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, 1992

The askos is the name given in modern parlance to a type of Greek pottery vessel used to pour small quantities of liquids such as oil. It is recognisable from its flat shape and a spout at one or both ends that could also be used as a handle; they were usually painted decoratively like vases and were mainly used for storing oil and refilling oil lamps. The ring askos is not a common shape in Apulia or elsewhere, but is widely distributed in time and space, from Mycenaean Greece to late-classical Italy. It is perhaps most common, however, in Archaic Asia Minor.

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