ITEM: Bowl depicting a musical instrument
MATERIAL: Pottery
CULTURE: Greek, South Italian colonies
PERIOD: 4th Century B.C
DIMENSIONS: 64 mm x 150 mm diameter
CONDITION: Good condition
PROVENANCE: Ex American private collection, Colorado, acquired before 2000s

Comes with Certificate of Authenticity and Export Licence. If you are from outside the European Union, we will have to apply for the export licence again for your country, this takes 3 to 5 weeks and has a cost of 5% of the hammer price, this amount will be added to the final invoice.

Greek bowls made by the South Italian colonies, known as Magna Graecia, represent a unique fusion of Greek and indigenous Italic artistic traditions. During the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, Greek settlers established colonies in Southern Italy, including regions such as Campania, Apulia, and Calabria. These colonies became vibrant cultural centers where Greek artisans produced pottery that combined traditional Greek forms and motifs with local styles and influences. The bowls crafted in these colonies often featured distinctive shapes and decorative elements that set them apart from mainland Greek pottery.

One of the most notable types of pottery from this region is the red-figure ware, which became particularly prominent in South Italian colonies during the 4th century BCE. This technique involved painting figures in a red slip against a black background, allowing for greater detail and complexity in the depiction of human figures and scenes. South Italian artisans, such as those from Apulia and Campania, often decorated bowls with intricate mythological scenes, theatrical masks, and elaborate floral patterns. These decorations not only reflected Greek mythology and daily life but also incorporated local Italic elements, resulting in a distinctive and richly decorated pottery style.

The bowls from the South Italian colonies were not merely utilitarian objects but also played important roles in social and religious contexts. They were used in domestic settings for dining and drinking, often as part of symposia, which were social gatherings where philosophical discussions, entertainment, and communal drinking took place. Additionally, these bowls were frequently placed in tombs as grave goods, signifying their importance in funerary practices and beliefs about the afterlife.