A Greek black figure stamnos

A Greek black figure stamnos
Possibly Boeotia, circa 4th-3rd Century B.C.
Decorated at the shoulder with a garlanded bucranium motif, flanked by trees, the body with three encircling bands, set on a pad foot, 30.5cm high

Provenance:
Anonymous sale; Cahn Auktionen AG, Basel, 22 September 2006, lot 319.
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired at the above sale.

It is unusual to see a bucranium depicted on a vase, however bucrania were often used as decorative devices in Greek temple architecture, the bull's skulls representing the garlanded oxen customarily offered for scarifice.