Bidspirit auction | Italo-Corinthian Terracotta Aryballos with Soldiers

Italo-Corinthian Terracotta Aryballos with Soldiers - 8th-7th century B.C. Bulbous vessel with narrow neck, broad rim to the mouth and short strap handle to the rear; frieze of warriors with spears and large round shields to the equator, circumferential rings and pellets to the rim. Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.62.11.11. 92 grams, 69 mm high (2 3/4 in.). From an early French collection, pre 1960. From the eighth to the seventh centuries B.C. Corinthian pottery was widely exported, especially to Greek colonies in South Italy and the coast of Asia Minor. They were used to hold perfumed oil and were an essential item for the wealthy and emerging middle classes of the time. In Italy, especially Etruria, local workshops produced imitations for a clientele of Greek settlers as well as local populations with a taste for Greek products and fashions.