Antico Greco Argento Ciotola semisferica. Unico. 14 cm D. VI secolo a.C. Molto bello. Licenza di esportazione spagnola.

Semi-spherical bowl

CULTURE: Ancient Greek

PERIOD: 6th Century BC

MATERIAL: Silver

DIMENSIONS: Diameter 14 cm; height 9 cm.

PROVENANCE: Private collection, London, acquired before 1980.

CONDITION: Intact.

DESCRIPTION:

An ovoid shaped bowl, decorated in the upper third of its body and with a wide, flared mouth. The base is off-centre from the axis of symmetry of the recipient, and for this reason it does not sit in a stable position. It is simply handmade, with the blows from the hammering showing on various areas of the body. The decoration consists of three straight lines around the neck of the bowl with a slight indentation between each one.

Given this shape, we are dealing with a bowl for ritual libation, one which reminds us of a phiale, one of the most characteristic recipients in the Greek period. It was most probably for funerary purposes. The history of this recipient form is very lengthy: it was very much favoured in the eastern and central Mediterranean area, to the point where it became the Greek vessel form par excellence for the religious act of libation as early as the Archaic Period around the 7th Century BC.

The variations in shape on the original are multiple. In many cases it is difficult to determine the date and provenance of pieces that, except in exceptional cases, have no known archaeological context.


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

- CABRERA, Paloma (ed.). La colección Várez Fisa en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. 2003. (p. 447).


Notes:
The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
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- The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
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