Apulian Gnathia Hydria

An ancient Apulian Greek black glazed Gnathia hydria, a water vessel, with handles at the sides and a decorative laurel band on the front in added white.

Apulia, Magna Graecia, South Eastern Italy.
Ca. 340 - 300 BC.
Height: 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm).

Gnathia ware is so named as it was first found at the Apulian site of Egnathia. The black glaze ware is often decorated with applied red, white, or yellow painted floral motifs. Production probably was centered around Taras, with workshops in Egnathia, Canosa and Sicily..
The output and quality of the Greek colonial potters working in Apulia increased greatly following the Peloponnesian War when Attic exports fell off sharply. Apulian craftsmanship is an amalgamation of the Ionian (Athenian, Attic) conventions, and Doric (western colonial Greek) styles, with a noticeable native Italian aesthetic.

Published: J. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, vol. IV, (1985), p. 37, no. 116.

Formerly in a Michigan private collection; previously Sotheby's, London, May 21, 1984, lot 322.

Exhibited: Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, 1985 - 1999.

Inv#: 7769

$5,000

Guaranteed Authentic

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