Ancient Greek Corinthian Pottery Aryballos w/ Harpy

Ancient Greece, Corinth, ca. early 6th century BCE. An attractive aryballos, a vessel used to hold scented oils and perfumes in the bath, with a classic apple-shaped form, a circular flat rim, and a wide strap handle. The body is decorated with a large harpy standing upon petite avian feet with open wings, a broad feathered tail, and a prominent chest supporting a long neck and an anthropomorphic head. Behind either wing is an abstract phytomorphic form similar to a seed pod. Both seed pods and the harpy are decorated with incised designs. A small border of tongue-shaped forms surrounds the neck above a set of concentric circles. Harpies were originally personifications of wind spirits, and the earliest pottery, like this one, depicts them as beautiful women with graceful bird bodies. Size: 3.5" Diameter x 4" H (8.9 cm x 10.2 cm)

During this time, Corinthian ceramics showed the influence of eastern trade connections with the city - creating art with stylized plants and animal friezes, inspired by trade with the Levant, Egypt, and Assyria. This is known as the "Orientalizing Period."

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-private Healy collection, Studio City, California, USA, acquired over the last twenty years

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#157817
Condition Report: Vessel is professionally repaired and restored from two halves along the lower half of the body with some resurfacing and overpainting along break lines. Small area of repair and restoration to rim. Surface wear commensurate with age, light abrasions, small chips to rim, base, and handle, with some fading to pigmentation. Light earthen and mineral deposits throughout.