Greek Blackware Kothon / Plemochoe with Stem

**First Time At Auction**

Ancient Greece, 5th to 4th century BCE. A splendid blackware ceramic kothon or plemochoe (known as exaleiptron in Ancient Greece) with a compressed circular body and generously inverted lip resting atop a tiered bulbous foot. Painted with an iridescent black glaze, the extended lip is adorned with an artfully engraved pattern of two saltires opposite one another and intricately repeated grooves bordered on top and bottom by an incised band. The remarkably thin inverted lip was designed to prevent spillage as kothons were used to hold sweet and floral ointments for a religious ceremony or a lady's toilette. Size: 3.625" in diameter x 2.875" H (9.2 cm x 7.3 cm)

For another example of an Attic plemochoe, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 07.286.46a, b.

Provenance: ex-Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000

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#158341
Condition Report: Small piece of base has been reattached and reglazed, but is indistinguishable. Subtle nicks/chips, abrasions, and earthen deposits. Overall, intact and excellent.