Lot 16
Ancient Greece, ca. 5th to 4th century BCE. A beautiful wheel-thrown pottery lebes gamikos with a squat footed base, a gradually-widening body with a concave shoulder, a raised lip meant to hold a lid, and a pair of arching handles. The lid has a discoid body with a tapering neck and a ball-shaped handle. Both vessel and lid handle - save the foot and lid body - are adorned with black-glazed decorations, and scattered areas of faint silvery iridescence provide a nice chromatic complementarity. Size (w/ lid): 4.625" W x 5.3" H (11.7 cm x 13.5 cm).
Lebes Gamikos (plural lebetes gamikoi) are important and highly-symbolic vessels created in the Classical world. High handles and ornate designs characterize this particular style, and were used primarily in times of great happiness or immense sorrow. This form of pottery is used during ancient marriage ceremonies. Its name literally translates to "marriage vase", and it was used to ritualistically sprinkle the bride with water prior to the wedding. Lebetes gamikoi were also an integral component of funerary rituals, used to consecrate the body of and act as a grave marker for women who died without experiencing the act of betrothal.
Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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#142810
- Condition: Lid is likely not original to the body. Lid repaired from multiple pieces with small chips and earthen material over break lines. Minor nicks to foot, body, handles, and lid, with hairline fissures to lid, and fading to color of some glazed areas. Scattered areas of faint silver iridescence, and light earthen deposits throughout.
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