Fine Greek Xenon Pottery Kylix w/ Swan

**First Time At Auction**

Magna Graecia, South Italic Colonies, Apulia, ca. 340 to 325 BCE. An attractive kylix presenting a classic form and a beautiful decorative program arrived at via fugitive peachy-pink pigment. On the tondo is an elegant swan depicted in profile with a long beak and feathery wings encircled by a ring-like border followed by a laurel leaf garland, with matching garlands on the exterior walls - all delineated in characteristic Xenon peachy-pink over a glossy black glaze. Note the stunning rainbow iridescence on the interior! Size: 8" in diameter x 2" H (20.3 cm x 5.1 cm)

Xenon ware is a specific type of Apulian pottery, named after a vase in Frankfurt (Beazley, EVP, p. 219,1.) that is inscribed with the name: XENON. The type is distinguished by added pale pink/red decoration over black glaze.

The swan played a complex role in Greek mythology - the attribute of Aphrodite and Apollo, said to sing a song of unearthly beauty as it dies, as well as the form assumed by Zeus to ravish Leda, mother of Helen of Troy. The latter, based on the writings of Ovid and Fulgentius, was well known in the European Middle Ages, and inspired artists, including Michelangelo, during the Italian Renaissance. However, the ancient Greek artisan who made this piece was probably depicting the swan as a general symbol of passion and beauty rather than a direct reference to the Zeus and Leda story. That subject gained its popularity later, because in Christian Europe it was more acceptable to depict women being intimate with a swan than with a man, while in ancient Greece there were no such restrictions.

Provenance: private Corpus Christi, Texas, USA estate collection, acquired 1960s to 1970s

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#165357
Condition Report: Collection label on base. Repair and restoration to rim and one handle. Chip to rim. Some light scratches and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with nice encrustations.