Rare European Lusatian Bronze Age Pottery Burial Urn

Central Europe, Germany & Poland, Urnfield & Lusatian (Lausitz) culture, Bronze Age, ca. 1300 to 500 BCE. This is an impressive Lusatian primary burial urn in impeccable preservation and presents a unique opportunity to acquire an extremely uncommon European Bronze Age ceramic in near perfect condition! The vessel rests on a flat base, the walls swelling outward to broad shoulder with two strap handles flanking a tall, wide neck. The exterior has lovely terracotta hues but is not just an ordinary "everyday" utilitarian ceramic piece, but a ritualistic funerary vessel used by Lusatian culture for burial. Usually only found in museum collections in Europe, Urnfield culture ceramics are among the rarest of all handmade pottery in the ancient world! For every single burial vessel, there are secondary pieces inside the urn which survive intact, while the primary urns are usually discovered in many pieces. This urn is nearly completely intact, so the rarity and quality of this ceramic cannot be over-emphasized! Size: 11" Diameter x 10" H (27.9 cm x 25.4 cm)

The people of the Lusatian Culture were mainly farmers with domesticated animals, supplementing their diet with hunted game. Their settlements existed in both open and fortified plans, and their interred cremated remains in pots date to a time beyond central European societies, into the Early Iron Age. Lusatian Culture burials usually consist of a main urn that can range from modest sizes up to very large dimensions and secondary pieces would have accompanied the main vessel, such as cups, small dishes, and dippers. A bowl or saucer was placed upside down over the top as a lid, and the whole set buried in a field. Since primary burial urns were put directly into the ground versus secondary vessels being placed inside which were more protected, these primary vessels seldom survive, so the rarity of this nearly intact, primary urn cannot be over-emphasized!

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world's largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: ex-private H.S. Hesse collection, Germany

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.

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#167895
Condition Report: Found intact requiring only crack-filling and 1%-2% restoration to small gaps and cavities, one handle, and part of the rim edge.