Kalathos. Apulia

Kalathos. Apulia. Magna Graecia. Southern Italy, 4th-3rd century BC.
Pottery worked on a potter's wheel, oxidising firing, overpainted, glazed.
In excellent state of preservation. It has undergone a process of restoration and cleaning.
Measurements: 19.5x 30 cm.
The kalathos was a vessel used to collect and store raw wool and wool processed into yarn. They were also used to contain fruit and flowers. In this case, it should be seen as a symbol of fertility, especially in relation to Ceres, Eros, genii and the personifications of the seasons. From the geometric period onwards, potters imitated the shape of the kalathos. These ceramic kalathoi vary in height, although miniatures (kalathiskoi) are much more common than kalathoi of functional size. The surface may be left undecorated or decorated and often triangular holes are left in the body that seem to mimic the texture of the wicker basket. Of course, such vessels could contain wool or thread, but they also served other purposes. This kalathos is varnished black on the outside and inside, leaving the bottom inside (painted with black concentric circles) and on the outside a band on the foot and another, wider band on the lower part of the body decorated with fine concentric red lines and small leaves in black. The rest of the body is decorated with vegetal decoration based on scrolls, laurel-leaf garlands, palmettes, flowers and small leaves, all in reddish tones. There are parallel kalathos in the British Museum (reference no. 1877,1207.14) and the Met Museum (reference no. 06.1021.221).