Object Description
A fine, ancient Greek, Apulian oinochoe prochous, enriched with decorative bands of varying patterns. The vessel features a bulbous, black-glazed body that rises to a slender neck and sits on a tiered, pedestal foot. The strap handle, sharply angled at the top, rises above the beaked spout, before bending back down to join the body. Where the handle meets the spout, two heads on either side protrude outwards. The body is decorated with tiers of painted registers, separated by pairs of thin, parallel, encircling bands. The widest band displays a series of ochre and white petals or leaves, extending outwards from a painted orange-red line through the centre, creating a wreath-like design. Between each petal, a series of dots further enrich the wreath. The petals are pointed towards a central flower, composed of white petals blooming from an ochre centre. The wreath is framed at the top and bottom with a series of larger dots. On the shoulder, the decoration continues, with a frieze filled with a zigzagging line, followed by a band of egg-and-dart ornamentation, and completed at the top, by the neck, with an additional line of dots. The decoration of the oinochoe is finished by a band of chevron patterns, an additional band of egg-and-dart motifs, and a final pair of parallel encircling lines towards the bottom. The decorative scheme cuts off on both sides before the handle. The stepped foot of the vessel is decorated with a simple black band.
Date: Circa 350–300 BC