Faience bowl

2nd–1st century BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

The decorative scheme of this bowl, large petals separated by triangular zones of stacked ferns or pine cones, illustrates the close correspondance between faience and Megarian wares, two types of kiln fired objects ornamented with designs normally associated with silver vessels.While Megarian bowls were made in many places within the Mediterranean basin, faience seems to have been produced solely in Egypt, most likely Alexandria, its artistic and commercial center during the Hellenistic period.The broad appeal of faience bowls, therefore, is attested by their diverse geographical find-spots, such as; the Greek island of Rhodes, Asia Minor (Turkey), Palastine and, Apulia in Southern Italy.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Faience bowl
Period: Hellenistic
Date: 2nd–1st century BCE
Culture: Greek, Ptolemaic
Medium: faience
Dimensions: h. 4 1/10 in. (10.5 cm); d. 6 4/5 in. (17.2 cm).
Classification: Miscellaneous-Faience
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.194.2536
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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