Apulian Pottery - Gnathia Ware: Bowl
Inv. No.: 88.009
Provenance: Apulia
Date: 4th century BC
Height: 167mm
Diameter: 230mm
Gift of Fritz Hugelmann.
This large round bowl comes from the middle Gnathian period. It has a flanged rim whose upper surface slopes down towards the outer edge. The bowl is set on a small flaring foot that has a beveled lower edge. The lug handles are placed below the rim. The one on the left is pierced by a hole. The vase is covered with dull black on the inside and outside except for a reserved band on the lower part of the bowl. The foot is also reserved. The exterior is decorated with coarse floral patterns painted in white and yellow over the black, a characteristic feature of Gnathia ware. The patterns are more elaborate on Side A where they frame a hanging female theatrical mask. Red scarves are another decorative element used on this side. The vase has been reassembled from a number of fragments and the black is worn and chipped. It has fired red in places.
Function:
A bowl, probably used for mixing wine and water.
Manufacture:
A wheel-made vase with turned foot and hand-made handles.
Decoration:
- Side A: between the handles is a band of white/yellow ivy pattern with one, two or three dot fruit. Four white/yellow vertical sprays hang beneath the ivy band. Each outer pair frames a rosette pendant (a rosette above short horizontal lines of diminishing width).
- In the centre is a profile female hetaira mask (Type XD). It is white with yellow details. The hair is yellow and is gathered into a bun tied with a red ribbon. There are red dashes at the front as well, perhaps indicating a band. Yellow ribbons dangle below the mask while a red sash hangs above it, suspended at both ends from the ivy band. There is a red sash with a white fringe hanging in the field in front of the mask and another behind it. The latter also has a white outline on its right edge.
- Side B: between the handles is a painted white/yellow line with a line of white/yellow dots above and below it.
Bibliography:
Green, J. R., "Gnathia Addenda", Institute of Classical Studies Bulletin, 18 (1971), 30-38.
Green, J. R., "Gnathia Fragments in Basel and Melbourne", Institute of Classical Studies Bulletin, 23 (1976), 96-98.
Green, J. R., Gnathia Pottery in the Akademisches Kunstmuseum Bonn, Mainz, Verlag Philipp Von Zabern, 1976.
Green, J. R., "Some Painters of Gnathia Vases", Institute of Classical Studies Bulletin, 15 (1968), 34-50.
Green, J. R., "The Gnathia Pottery of Apulia", The Art of South Italy: Vases from Magna Graecia, eds. M. E. Mayo and K. Hamma, Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1982, 252-259.
Webster, T. B. L., "Masks on Gnathia Vases", Journal of Hellenic Studies, LXXI (1951), 222-232.
Webster, T. B. L., "Towards a Classification of Apulian Gnathia", Institute of Classical Studies Bulletin, 15 (1968), 1-33.
Webster, T. B. L. and J. R. Green, Monuments Illustrating Old and Middle Comedy, third edition, University of London, Institute of Classical Studies (Bulletin Supplement No. 39), 1978, 23-25 (mask classifications).
Comparanda:
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Italia 15, Taranto 1 (undated), IV, Ds, Tavola 1, 6 (similar shape).
Metzger, I. R. et al, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Schweiz 5, Svizzera 5 (1979), Tafel 27, 15-16 (bell crater with similar decoration).
Rocco, A., Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Italia 24, Napoli 3 (undated), IV, E, Tavola 58, 3 (similar shape and decoration).
Romanelli, P., Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Italia 4, Lecce 1 (1928), IV, Ds, Tavola 3, 6 (similar shape; mask framed by ivy sprays).
Webster, T. B. L., "Masks on Gnathia Vases", Journal of Hellenic Studies, LXXI (1951), Fig. 1, p. 225 (very similar decoration on a bell crater).
Webster, T. B. L., Monuments Illustrating Old and Middle Comedy, second edition, University of London, Institute of Classical Studies (Bulletin Supplement No. 23), 1969, Plate VI, b (very similar vase).