LOT 0643

Large Greek Geometric Terracotta Oinochoe with Swastikas

8TH CENTURY B.C.

14 in. (2.04 kg, 35.5 cm).

With flared mouth, wide neck, bulbous body and ring foot, painted in brown and red matte glaze; geometric pattern spread over several registers separated by bundles of encircling stripes, triangles with hatching inside them, neck with metopes containing swastikas, rosettes and rhombuses with a band of rhombuses beneath; the shoulder with five line friezes arranged one above the other; the body decorated with meander and a band of rhombuses and triangles with hatching below, a broad black stripe (in places reddish as a result of misfiring) to the lower part; transition to the ring foot and ring foot painted black; wide strap handle attached to the shoulder and painted on the outside with a wavy line framed by dots, edge stripes and three small stars, the connecting bar patterned with stripes; museum-quality restoration.

Ex Madame P., Paris.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12460-228686.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. for the shape of the oinochoe and its decoration with horizontal stripes Boardman, J., Early Greek Vase Painting, 11th - 6th Centuries BC. A Handbook, London, 1998, figs. 114 and 119; for a similar decorated oinochoe in the British Museum, accession no.1912.0522.1; the Saint Louis Art Museum, object number 172:1987.

Vessels of the Geometric Period (900-700 BCE) are easily recognisable by their abstract decorative designs, which had their origin in woven textiles and baskets. While early period pottery typically has sparse geometric motifs on a black background, the amount of the decoration increased progressively to the point that objects from the late Geometric period are often entirely covered - in this example, even the strap handle.