Greek Hellenistic Silver Bowl with Flared Rim, Magna Graecia, 4th-3rd...
Greek Hellenistic Silver Bowl with Flared Rim, Magna Graecia, 4th-3rd C. BCESouthern Italy, Magna Graecia, Greek, Late Classical to Hellenistic period, ca. 400–200 BCE. A thick-walled silver bowl raised to a deep, rounded body that swells from a curved base and opens into a cleanly everted rim lip. The surface is unornamented, its interest carried by weight, profile, and the soft grey and black tones of aged silver. Hammered from sheet and finished by burnishing, the vessel belongs to the plain-ware tradition of Greek table silver, likely serving as a drinking or serving bowl at the banquet, where undecorated forms of good metal signaled wealth without display. Its geometry is deliberately spare: a single continuous curve, broken only by the flare of the lip. Silver plate of this kind was measured by mass as much as by shape, and often passed as portable treasure. Size: 6" Diam x 2.75" H (15.2 cm Diam x 7.0 cm H); Size of repair area: 3" W x 2" H (7.6 cm W x 5.1 cm H).
Magna Graecia, the constellation of Greek colonies across southern Italy and Sicily, produced some of the most accomplished metalwork of the Late Classical and Hellenistic world. Tarentum in particular was famous for silversmiths whose output ranged from figured phialai and relief medallion bowls to plain hollow-ware of exactly this type. Ancient inventories from Greek sanctuaries record silver vessels by weight rather than by decoration, a practice that helps explain the survival of undecorated forms: they were bullion in useful shape, held for the banquet and liquidated when required. Hoards buried during the upheavals of the Second Punic War have preserved comparable plain bowls in the region, often alongside coinage.
Provenance: Private NYC. collection. Bonham’s, London, early 2000’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #73304Scattered areas of black surface patina. A 3” x 2” area of repair and restoration on one side of the bowl.
Greek Hellenistic Silver Bowl with Flared Rim, Magna Graecia, 4th-3rd C. BCESouthern Italy, Magna Graecia, Greek, Late Classical to Hellenistic period, ca. 400–200 BCE. A thick-walled silver bowl raised to a deep, rounded body that swells from a curved base and opens into a cleanly everted rim lip. The surface is unornamented, its interest carried by weight, profile, and the soft grey and black tones of aged silver. Hammered from sheet and finished by burnishing, the vessel belongs to the plain-ware tradition of Greek table silver, likely serving as a drinking or serving bowl at the banquet, where undecorated forms of good metal signaled wealth without display. Its geometry is deliberately spare: a single continuous curve, broken only by the flare of the lip. Silver plate of this kind was measured by mass as much as by shape, and often passed as portable treasure. Size: 6" Diam x 2.75" H (15.2 cm Diam x 7.0 cm H); Size of repair area: 3" W x 2" H (7.6 cm W x 5.1 cm H).
Magna Graecia, the constellation of Greek colonies across southern Italy and Sicily, produced some of the most accomplished metalwork of the Late Classical and Hellenistic world. Tarentum in particular was famous for silversmiths whose output ranged from figured phialai and relief medallion bowls to plain hollow-ware of exactly this type. Ancient inventories from Greek sanctuaries record silver vessels by weight rather than by decoration, a practice that helps explain the survival of undecorated forms: they were bullion in useful shape, held for the banquet and liquidated when required. Hoards buried during the upheavals of the Second Punic War have preserved comparable plain bowls in the region, often alongside coinage.
Provenance: Private NYC. collection. Bonham’s, London, early 2000’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #73304Scattered areas of black surface patina. A 3” x 2” area of repair and restoration on one side of the bowl.
