Lot 7047

Description

Magnificent example of an early Etruscan urn in sienna-coloured, hand-moulded clay, lavishly decorated in metope style. Wide, flat base from which the bellied urn widens conically upwards, with a distinctive break at the shoulder, before tapering conically upwards. Above which, the slightly domed neck, offset by a high, funnel-shaped rim that also curves outwards slightly. Two horizontal lines running around the front of the belly below three lines beneath the shoulder, each with two tall rectangular metopes with two segments, a concentric circle at the top of each and a St. Andrew's cross underneath. A zigzag band composed of three parallel lines at the shoulder. Directly above the break, the horizontal handles of circular section, these extending upwards at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. At the top of the neck, a "running dog" surrounded by lines, a "cord" at the bottom on which lanyards with concentric circles are suspended. Interspersed with two metopes on the front sides, all decorated with different patterns (cross-hatching, branches, a St. Andrew's cross with rays in the angles, a metope divided into four sections, containing a lozenge, hatching, a concentric circle and a swastika. One handle broken off and re-glued. Otherwise intact. Height 32.5 cm. Exceptionally fine, almost perfectly preserved specimen of an early Iron Age urn with unusually magnificent, lavish ornamentation. CULTURAL HERITAGE ITEM

Provenance: South German private collection, acquired in the Bamberg art trade during the 1980s (Rammel auction house).

Condition: I - II Questions about the lot?