Lot 5013

Description

Etruscan, 7th-6th century B.C., Bucchero earthenware, large oinochoe with inscribed incuse decoration around the vessel, (height 290mm). Very fine and rare.

A vase with a short globular body and continuous curve from mouth to foot, a high neck with a slightly flaring lip and trefoil mouth, a vertical looped handle which may rise above the lip, and a low foot. Through literary sources and artistic representations, it is known that the oinochoe was used for ladling and pouring wine, as well as serving as a grave offering. The famous Bucchero earthenware which is most often associated with the Etruscans, became common between about the 7th and early 5th century B.C. Characteristically, the ware is black, sometimes gray, and often shiny from polishing. The colour was achieved by firing in an atmosphere charged with carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. This is known as a reducing firing, and it converts the red of the clay, due to the presence of iron oxide, to the typical bucchero colours.