Fragment of a Mold for a Bowl with Relief Decoration

Artists

Description

Fragment of a terracotta mold for making red-gloss ware bowls with relief decoration. The designs are stamped into the negative mold. Below an egg-and-dart pattern, the surface is subdivided by beaded lines. A semicircular wreath or garland is visible on the left; on the right is a winged female figure in a belted and flounced dress, standing frontally with the weight on her left leg and her head turned right. Holding a palm branch in one hand and a (laurel?) wreath in the other, she represents Victory. To her left runs the stamp of the mold maker Cinnamus: CINNAM[I]. The clay is relatively coarse, with a gray core and significant mica.

Dimensions

8.8 cm (3 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), Saint-Nicolas-les-Arras, France, and descendants, sold; [through auctioneer Jack-Philippe Ruellan, Vannes, France, April 4, 2009] to Charles Ede Limited, London; sold: to Harvard Art Museums 2011.