Ancient Greek Ceramic Lekythos. 20.5 cm H. TL test. Ex Louis-Gabriel Bellon Coll. Spanish Export License.

Lekythos with a geometric decoration

- very old collection provenance of 19th century -

- with TL test -

CULTURE: Greek, Magna Graecia, Apulia.

PERIOD: 4th century BC.

MATERIAL: Ceramic.

DIMENSIONS: Height 20. 5 cm

PROVENANCE: Private collection Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899) , France. Archaeologist and collector who lived in Saint Nicolas les Arras in France, and conducted excavations in his local area. He also bought extensively from auction houses and kept records of his collection with drawings and sketches. After his death a part of his collection was housed in a British Museum, but this was detroyed in the First World war; the remainder of his collection was kept in the family, and part sold after.

CONDITION: Good condition, intact, only a small restoration in the lib of the base, see photos. The body neck mouth and handle intact.

DOCUMENTS: - Attached thermoluminescence test.

DESCRIPTION:

Lekythos from Magna Graecia beautifully decorated with vegetable motifs synthesized in white, black and ocher on the reddish tone of the varnished clay, a chromaticism reminiscent of Gnathia ceramics, although it is a piece from Apulia. It has a low grooved foot, which is attached by a flattened shaft to a globular-shaped body. The neck is high and narrow, and the mouth is flared, flat at the mouth. The strap-shaped handle starts from the shoulders and ends at the base of the neck, with a stylized profile in keeping with the general design of the shape.

The mouth, the handle and the upper half of the neck are completely covered by the smooth black varnish. The lower part of the neck is adorned with a band of parallel lines, a stylization of plant motifs. On the shoulders, a band of white dots on a black background and a frieze of leaves that refers to the eggs of contemporary architecture. The body appears covered by a network of rhombuses that house leaves with a lobed profile, combining the colors white, black and ocher and creating an expressive game of geometric contrast in rhythmic repetition. The lower part of the body is decorated with a frieze of sea waves in black. The stem of the foot remains in the natural color of the clay, as opposed to the black of the base.

It is a very delicate piece, small for a lekythos, a typology that is generally between 10 and 30 cm, although there are specimens up to one meter in height. It is a type of Greek pottery characterized by its vertical shape, narrow neck and wide mouth. The function of the lekythos is not well known, although they were surely used to store olive oil. The smallest specimens would be ointment, since their open mouth allows the dosage of the scented oil, and the largest ones have a clear funerary function, possibly due to their relationship with the ointments used to embalm the deceased.

PARALLELS (LAST PHOTOS) :

Fig. 1 Lekythos with red figures by the Darío Painter. Apulia, 340-320 BC. British Museum, London, inv. 1867. 0508. 1194.

Fig. 2 Amphoriskos with diamond net decoration. Apulia, 340-320 BC. Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 2015. 641.

Fig. 3 Askos with theater mask and diamond net. Apulia, 340-320 BC. Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 2015. 642.

Notes:

- The piece includes authenticity certificate.
- The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested, can take between 1-2 weeks maximum.
- 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.