Indian Chandraketugarh Molded Pottery Jar - TL Tested

India, Chandraketugarh, Period III, Shunga (Sunga) Period, ca. 185 BCE to 50 CE. An incredibly rare find from a little-known area, this is an example of fine gray pottery with an extensive stamped design. This is a delicate thin-walled vessel, with a wide slightly raised foot, flaring rim and bulbous body decorated with repeating scene of dancing females with an occasional interspersed male on the lower register and females riding what appears to be a variant of a hippocamp on the top register. Size: 7" W x 7.125" H (17.8 cm x 18.1 cm)

Chandraketugarh, located northeast of modern-day Kolkata, was a large fortified settlement with high ramparts and wooden housing on both sides of the fortifications. Period III was the most prosperous period, when the level of pottery production seems to have been the finest - as well as the most influenced by contact with the Romans (or at least, their trade goods). Beginning in this period and continuing to ca. 650 CE, their pottery was bright, with intricate designs created by painting, stamping, incisions, molding, and appliqueing. Vases like this one were not handmade - they were made by specialists in an urban economy and were made for an urban, elite or at least middle-class clientele. The quality of this vase speaks to Chandraketugarh's place along the Indian Ocean trade routes and its cosmopolitan culture.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection acquired from Ibrahimi Gallery, California, USA, 2002

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

#163478
Condition Report: Chips to foot and rim, wear to some of the highpoints of the figures. TL holes to foot and under rim.