Object Description
A very fine ancient Greek black-glazed terracotta epichysis from the South Italian region. The vessel presents a small spool-shaped body with a domed shoulder leading to a slender neck and a pinched, steeply angled spout. A tall handle rises above the spout in an elegant curve, before bending back down to join the shoulder. A cylindrical moulded, rosette terminal has been placed at the point of separation between the handle and the pouring spout on either side, to further enrich the composition.
The domed shoulder is decorated with a floral motif of a long incised laurel wreath stem bracketed on both sides with white leaves terminating with a flowering bud under the spout. The overhanging lip of the body is decorated with an egg-moulding pattern. Pale vertical lines embellish the centre of the base of the neck, breaking up at the back where they get obscured by the handle. The reel-shaped part of the body is decorated with a footed phiale or a stemless kylix painted in ochre. Small floral elements surround the image. Wide ochre band encompassing the base of the body.
Date: Circa 4th-3rd century BC