Published / Exhibited Greek Mycenaean Jar, ex-Christies

Ancient Greece, Mycenaean Period, Late Helladic II to Late Helladic III, ca. 1400 to 1100 BCE. A fabulous, wheel-thrown pottery jar of a traditional utilitarian form with a protruding ring base, a compressed spherical body with a gently rounded shoulder, a pair of stirrup-shaped handles arching to the top of a central false spout, and a functional spout with a thick rim off-set along the shoulder. The cream-slipped vessel exhibits an attractive minimalism with solid swaths of red-brown pigment adorning the handles, a false spout, and a functioning spout, with two sets of thin stripes enclosed within a pair of broad bars, and a solid ring of pigment around the foot. A fantastic example of everyday pottery artistry from a time when Mycenae was at its peak of influence in the Mediterranean. Size: 4.5" W x 3.8" H (11.4 cm x 9.7 cm).

The stirrup jar is one of the most ubiquitous vessel shapes of the Late Helladic Period. Although the type was originally a Minoan innovation, it gained great popularity in the Mycenaean world. Its moniker derives from the form of the handles that flank a false spout. These petite vessels were perhaps for storing oil, while the larger versions would have perhaps contained wine. The design would have been ideal for sealing during transport, to prevent spillage and the evaporation of scented perfumes. The red-brown-painted concentric circles along the body are typical for small stirrup jars in this period.

This vessel was part of the extensive collection of Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum periodically deaccessioned items from this unparalleled collection, and this particular vessel was deaccessioned in 1916.

Published in: Boulter, C.G. and K.T. Luckner. "Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum." The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1984, Fasc. 2, p. 1, pl. 61.3.

Beazley Archive Database, no. 9001869

This piece is possibly included in "The Terracottas and Pottery of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities," New York, 1895, no. 2, p. 75 (possibly no. 542, 544, 546, 550-556, 565-566, 568 or 570).

Provenance: private Connecticut, USA collection; ex-Christie's, New York, Online "Storied Treasures: Antiquities from the Toledo Museum of Art" auction (sale 14572, October 19-26, 2016, lot 28); ex-Edward Drummond Libbey (1854-1925) collection, Toledo, Ohio, USA, gifted to The Toledo Museum of Art in 1916, accession number 1916.115; exhibited from 1873 to 1916 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA; ex-Luigi Palma di Cesnola (1832-1904) collection, New York, New York, USA, the first Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1868-1873.

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#152758 Dimensions: Condition Report: Professional repairs to handles, central false spout, and functioning spout, with in-fill to a few small areas around body and resurfacing and light overpainting along break lines. Minor abrasions and nicks to base, body, handles, and spouts, with areas of fading and darkening to original pigmentation, and light encrustations. Nice earthen deposits and great traces of original pigment throughout.