A classic globular form aryballos with a circular flat rim and a single wide strap handle joining rim to shoulder. The body is decorated with a frieze of seven hoplite warriors with spears and large round shields to the equator, circumferential rings, and pellets to the rim.
 
Italian Etruscan Corinthian culture Southern Italy: Circa 8th-7th century BC.
 
Fine condition; the decoration worn in places.
Height 7 cms (2.75 ins)
 
Provenance: From an early French collection, pre 1960.
 
Literature: Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.62.11.11.
 
From the eighth to the seventh centuries B.C. Corinthian pottery was widely exported, especially to Greek colonies in South Italy and the coast of Asia Minor. They were used to hold perfumed oil and were an essential item for the wealthy and emerging middle classes of the time. In Italy, especially Etruria, local workshops produced imitations for a clientele of Greek settlers as well as local populations with a taste for Greek products and fashions.