Rare Greek Bronze Lidded Cauldron (Lebes / Urn)
Greece, Classical Period, ca. late 6th to 5th century BCE. A beautiful, rare, lidded bronze cauldron, also known as a lebes or an urn. The body is wide and cylindrical, with deep, straight walls and a base that is slightly rounded at its edges, as if made to sit in sand or dirt rather than on a flat surface. The vessel's rim bulges outward, with two hinges attached to the rim and to the lid. Bronze rods, each with a looped handle on one end, slide through the hinges to hold the lid closed. The lid is rounded, with raised bands wrapped around its surface that give it a ziggurat-like appearance. It is capped by a sharply-pointed handle. Size: 8.75" W x 10.75" H (22.2 cm x 27.3 cm)
The lidded lebes was widely used throughout the classical world, including in Attic Greece and Etruria, both as a temple offering and as a cinerary urn for holding human remains wrapped in cloth. The size of this one suggests that it was probably used for the former. They were given as rewards to winning athletes (who might then use them as their own urns) and also were gifts given at banquets, again with the intention of ultimately being used in the grave. Most of our known examples come from elite tombs, and they were prized items in the ancient world.
See a similar vessel with a flat lid at the Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/lebes
Provenance: ex-Dr. Martin Peretz collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1980s
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.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#145975
Condition Report: Lid is sealed in place as the pins holding it closed cannot be moved. Handle on top of lid has been reattached. Beautiful mottled turquoise patina on surface. Slight bending to form on one side of lid. Overall in beautiful condition.
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Greece, Classical Period, ca. late 6th to 5th century BCE. A beautiful, rare, lidded bronze cauldron, also known as a lebes or an urn. The body is wide and cylindrical, with deep, straight walls and a base that is slightly rounded at its edges, as if made to sit in sand or dirt rather than on a flat surface. The vessel's rim bulges outward, with two hinges attached to the rim and to the lid. Bronze rods, each with a looped handle on one end, slide through the hinges to hold the lid closed. The lid is rounded, with raised bands wrapped around its surface that give it a ziggurat-like appearance. It is capped by a sharply-pointed handle. Size: 8.75" W x 10.75" H (22.2 cm x 27.3 cm)
The lidded lebes was widely used throughout the classical world, including in Attic Greece and Etruria, both as a temple offering and as a cinerary urn for holding human remains wrapped in cloth. The size of this one suggests that it was probably used for the former. They were given as rewards to winning athletes (who might then use them as their own urns) and also were gifts given at banquets, again with the intention of ultimately being used in the grave. Most of our known examples come from elite tombs, and they were prized items in the ancient world.
See a similar vessel with a flat lid at the Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/lebes
Provenance: ex-Dr. Martin Peretz collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1980s
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.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#145975
Condition Report: Lid is sealed in place as the pins holding it closed cannot be moved. Handle on top of lid has been reattached. Beautiful mottled turquoise patina on surface. Slight bending to form on one side of lid. Overall in beautiful condition.
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