Bowl with Erotes and Floral Decoration in Relief

The so-called “Delian type” of Megarian bowls were produced and exported from workshops in Ionia (the west coast of Anatolia). On the lower register of this bowl, is a repeating pattern of alternating leaves and palm fronds. Above is a thin raised band that provides a ground for erotes to play their double-reeded flutes (auloi). The decoration is finished with a band of egg-and-dart. The bowl’s wide rim that curves slightly inward is also characteristic of the Delian type. Problems with oxygen levels in the kiln during the firing process created a large black band across the rim on one side of the vessel only.

The name for this style of Hellenistic mold made ceramic relief bowls, “Megarian ware,” is due to the mistaken notion that the vessels originated in Megara, Greece. Instead they were produced all across the Hellensitic world. These hemispherical bowls are characterized by their exterior relief, usually made up of floral designs, but occasionally including human and animal figures. These bowls were widespread and immensely popular, acting as the preferred wine drinking vessel of the middle and upper class until the end of the Hellenistic period.

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.

Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown][said to be from Cyzicus]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1909, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.