Pelike. Magna Grecia, Apulia, second half of the 4th century BC.

Pelike. Magna Grecia, Apulia, second half of the fourth century BC.
Terracotta glazed in black with red reserves.
Provenance: former English private collection; Private collection, acquired from Galerie Helios, February 2014.
Restored.
Measurements: 14.5 cm.

The peliké is a Greek ceramic vessel, catalogued as a variety of the amphora, but with a wider base. It has two vertical and facing handles, which go down from the mouth, narrow but with a very wide lip, to the beginning of the almost spherical body. It was intended for the storage and transport of liquid or solid food. This vessel comes from the region of Apulia, in southern Italy, where the Daunia is located, currently coinciding with the province of Foggia, and Mesapia, in the southern part of the region. From 320 B.C. onwards Athens no longer exported pottery, and only a few vessels were made and given as prizes to athletes in the Panathenaeans. The pottery produced by the Greek colonies of the Italic Peninsula then took the place of Athenian pottery in the Mediterranean market.