In the eighth century B.C., Greek settlers left their homeland behind and established a string of colonies along the Adriatic coast of Southern Italy. After the rise of Rome centuries later, this region would become known by the Latin term Magna Graecia, literally “Greater Greece,” due to the dense concentration of Greek settlements. The Greeks flourished here alongside the native populations, amassing great wealth through trade and importing their Hellenic culture throughout the area. They in turn were influenced by their neighbors, so that Magna Graecian pottery developed into a unique style that reflected both Greek and native Italian traditions. The Daunians were one such native culture that lived alongside the Greek colonies. Daunian pottery can be characterized by its rounded forms, geometric, linear designs, and eathern tones. The Greeks adopted some of the Daunian forms for themselves, revealing the cultural interplay that so distinguishes the art of Magna Graecia, both in respects to the Greeks as well as the native peoples such as the Daunians.Red lines crisscrossing and swirling around each other in an “expressionistic” style decorates the buff surface along the sides of this dish. The handle is a perfectly vertical appendage attached to the narrow body, having a series of horizontal bands like a ladder on both sides. The everted lip is painted red on the inside, with the interior left plain. This form of vessel is known as a kyathos, which are characterized by a single long, flat, looping handle. They would have most likely served as ladles for dispensing wine. - (PF.5394)

Antiquities
Ancient Greek