Skyphos. Greece, 4th century B.C.

Skyphos. Greece, 4th century BC.
Black pottery with red figures.
Provenance: English private collection.
Intact.
Measurements: 7.5 x 15.5 x 9.7 cm.

This skyphos, from Greek pottery workshops and dated to the fourth century BC, is distinguished by being decorated almost entirely. Its body is ornamented using the red figure technique, which shows a female face in profile flanked by large palmettes. This motif, known specifically as "Beauty Lady", was extremely frequent and popular in the decoration of Greek ceramics of the time.

As for the typology of the piece, the skyphos is a deep wine cup, with two handles and a low, wide base, or without a base. The handles can be small and horizontal, projecting from the rim (in Corinthian and Athenian forms), or they can be in the form of a loop, placed on the rim or protruding from the base.