VesselsEtruscan7th-6th century BCE

Bucchero Chalice (ex Kantharos) with Impressed Animal Frieze

625 BCE-575 BCE

Description

Grey-black thick fabric with burnished black slip. Three lines incised at lip. Stamped frieze of griffins, lions or chimeras, sphinxes, horses, and grazing stags runs around central portion of body. Hooked notches at the join between the cup's body and base. Tall base. Two filled patches below the rim on either side of the vessel suggest that this vessel once had handles on either side and was a kantharos. Another kantharos in the collection [116.1917] with identical animal frieze retains its handles.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Wheel-made

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Etruscan

Period

Archaic period

Century

7th-6th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

11 x 14.6 cm (4 5/16 x 5 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Purchased from Bernheimers', Cambridge, MA, by the McDaniel Collection, November 12 1963. Said to be from Messina, Sicily. Formerly Morgan Collection (1916 or 1920).