Epikeisis. Apulia, second half of the fourth century BC.

Epikeisis. Apulia, second half of the fourth century BC.
Black glazed terra cotta with ochre and white details and red figures.
Provenance: Ex Sotheby's London.
Measurements: 15.5 cm (height).

The shoulder of this epichrysis is adorned with a rich scene that captures the attention: a richly bejeweled winged hermaphrodite, seated and holding a chest (cist) in his right hand. The ornamentation is completed with scrolls and, along the rim, a frieze of ovals. The handle of the piece is flanked by masks representing lion heads on each side.

The epiquisis was a closed vessel, for oil, ointments or other liquids, also used for pouring wine and transferring a liquid from a large vessel to another vessel. Different sources speak of bronze epiquisis and others used for pouring oil into lamps, but it is Varron who provides the most explicit references: he indicates that this typology replaced the Roman guttus with the introduction of Greek fashions in Rome. It was possibly, therefore, the Greek equivalent of the Latin guttus.