Lot 36D
Magna Graecia, South Italic, Apulian, ca. 340 to 325 BCE. A beautiful wheel-thrown pottery lebes gamikos (also known as a nuptial lebes) with a flat base, indented walls, a rimmed edge leading to a rounded shoulder decorated with four nubbin-shaped protrusions, and a pair of high-arching handles. An accompanying lid has a discoid form with a recessed base, and a conical finial projecting skywards from the center. The spool-shaped body resembles a typical pyxis - whereas traditional lebes gamikos have tall, apple-shaped bodies - and is covered in a lustrous jet-black glaze as well as areas of reflective silvery iridescence. Size: 3.55" W x 3.25" H (9 cm x 8.3 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 meaning marriage vase - in order 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: private Davis collection, Houston, Texas, USA
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#132945
- Condition: Vessel repaired from two or three large pieces with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear commensurate with age, with minor nicks and chips to base and lid, and some light discoloration, otherwise excellent. Nice earthen deposits within vessel, with lovely exterior glazing and silvery iridescence throughout.
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