Villanovan vessel with ram, Central Italy, Etruria, late 8th-early 7th century BC
Impasto ware
Height 20.8cm
10938 IVP
Further images
The single-handled vessel, with rounded body and carinated shoulder, is set on three tall, splayed feet. The smooth surface with incised decoration around the shoulder consisting of groups of six...
The single-handled vessel, with rounded body and carinated shoulder, is set on three tall, splayed feet. The smooth surface with incised decoration around the shoulder consisting of groups of six vertical lines interspersed with single round indentations. A small animal, most likely a ram, perches on the handle, its forelegs resting on the jug’s upward flaring rim. One foot reattached, areas to the head and back of the animal repaired and small in-fillings to surface at shoulder.
Impasto ware is formed from a coarse brown clay, though its smooth, polished surface has an almost metallic lustre. Tripod cups such as this generally come from a well-known workshop in Bisenzio on the shores of Lake Bolsena in Etruria. The pottery of this workshop marks the transition from the Villanovan period to the Orientalizing.
Impasto ware is formed from a coarse brown clay, though its smooth, polished surface has an almost metallic lustre. Tripod cups such as this generally come from a well-known workshop in Bisenzio on the shores of Lake Bolsena in Etruria. The pottery of this workshop marks the transition from the Villanovan period to the Orientalizing.
Provenance
Private collection of K.A., Riehen, Switzerland; acquired 1975, thence by descent through the family
