Lot 18B
Magna Graecia, Italy, Apulia/Daunian, ca. 4th century BCE. A large pottery krater with a a broad, funneled rim, twin looping handles, and twin bat mask protomes. The cream hued body is extensively decorated with a series of straight lines around the body and curving and circular lines around the funnel rim, painted in red and black. As early as the 6th century BCE, Daunia was an extremely wealthy region as is evidenced by the rich grave goods from the urban centers of Canosa, Arpi, and Salapia among others. Daunian pottery while somewhat more rustic compared to black glazed and red figure South Italic Greek pottery is characterized by voluminous rounded forms with geometric and linear patterns in earthen tones as we see in this intriguing example. Size: 11" W x 9" H (27.9 cm x 22.9 cm)
Bat symbolism in the ancient Classical World is fascinating. The ancients would have compared them in some regards to human women, because of their two breasts and the fact that they give birth to only one or rarely two offspring at a time. They also, as in many cultures, were associated with the underworld and death, presumably because of their nocturnal habits and fondness for dark places like cave ceilings. Bats were sacred to Persephone, wife of Hades, and goddess of the underworld. Homer describes the souls of the dead: "Just as inside the corners of a monstrous cave/ bats flit around and squeak when one of them falls down/ out of the cluster on the rock where they cling/ to one another, that is how these spirits squawked as they moved on together." As this vessel was almost certainly made to grace a tomb, the bat symbolism complements its function.
Provenance: private Swiss collection
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#124245
- Condition: Not perfect, but worthy of restoration.
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