Kantharos

This small kantharos has sharp terminals on the tops of its two handles. The rounded base with raised ribs and round knobs joins the neck at the level of the bottom of the handles.
The Etruscans were a confederation of city-states in central Italy during the 7th-3rd centuries BCE. In addition to their notability as a maritime power, the Etruscans are also known for their bucchero, a style of pottery that was produced between the 7th and the 5th centuries BCE. It is black inside and out due to the reducing atmosphere during the firing process that prevented oxidation. Bucchero vessels are made on a wheel, and the forms often imitate contemporary impasto and metalware. When polished, the effect of bucchero’s black surfaces can even resemble oxidized silver. Impasto is a coarser clay that that is often dark gray.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Anonymous collection, [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [said to be from Nazzano Romano]; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by gift.