Greek Oinochoe // Time of Alexander the Great, 4th cent. BC

Ancient Greek. Gnathian, circa 340-320 BC. Time of Alexander the Great! A wonderful Gnathian black glazed Oinochoe (wine vessel). A beautiful wheel-thrown pottery oinochoe with a ringed foot, bulbous piriform body, a corseted neck with a trefoil-style spout, and an applied handle arching between the rim and shoulder. The black-glazed vessel is decorated on the front with white, red, and yellow pigment with a register of a wave band, a row of dots, a solid red bar, and a register of sprouting vine. The Gnathian style originated from Apulia, a region located along the south-eastern coast of Italy. This style consisted of a polychromic design applied onto a dark, varnished background and takes its name from the ancient southern Italian city of Egnathia. The primary colors used were red, white and yellow although white soon became the dominant color. In the Classical world oinochoai like this one were used for ladling and pouring wine, for instance, Euripides (Eur. Tr. 820 ff.) says that Ganymede filled the kylikes (wine cups) of Zeus with golden oinochoai. For a comprehensive treatment of Gnathian pottery, see T. B.L. Webster, "Towards a Classification of Apulian Gnathian", Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London 15 (1968): 13-18 for type. Measures 6.125”H x 3.5”L. Ex Kent, UK private collection; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1990s on the UK art market.