Bidspirit auction | GREEK GNATHIAN TERRACOTTA THISTLE MUG

GREEK GNATHIAN TERRACOTTA THISTLE MUG WITH DECORATION - Ca. 300 BC.A beautiful wheel-thrown drinking vessel with a short concave foot with central fillet, a bulbous body, cylindrical neck, a wide, flared rim, and an attached loop handle joining neck to shoulder. The mug is adorned with a double band and very stylised grape vine motif in yellow and white. The Gnathian style originated from Apulia, a region located along the south-eastern coast of Italy. The Gnathian style consisted of a polychromic design applied onto a dark, varnished background and takes its name from the ancient southern Italian city of Egnathia, where this type of ware was first found in the mid-19th century. The primary colours used were red, white and yellow although white soon became the dominant colour. 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.Size: L:115mm / W:95mm ; 150gProvenance: Property of a central London Gallery; formerly in a South English estate collection; acquired in the 1990s from Andre de Munter, Brussels, Belgium; previously in and old European collection.