Southern Italy, ca. 4th century BC. A trefoil spouted oinochoe beautifully decorated with the red-figure technique. The oinochoe features an ovoid body, a cylindrical neck, a trefoil mouth, a small ring foot, and a looped band handle with a central rib attached from the shoulder to the rim. The use of white paint for additional details, such as the jewellery of the woman, and as added highlights to the scenery is indicative of this vessel having been painted in Magna Graecia (the Greek colonies of Southern Italy). On one side, a seated woman wearing a sleeveless chiton is depicted in profile holding up a mirror to her face, her hair beautifully styled in a sakkos. She also wears a hairband (sphendone), a stephane, a necklace, and two bracelets. She faces an attendant, also wearing a sleeveless chiton, holding a laurel wreath in one hand and a tambourine in the other. The other side features a palmette flanked on both sides by a vertical column decorated with heart-shaped motifs. Oinochoai are perhaps one of the most common pottery types in the ancient world. Through literary sources and artistic representations, it is known that the oinochoe was used for ladling and pouring wine. For a comprehensive treatment of Apulian red-figure vases, see Trendall A. D., Cambitoglou, A. (1978). The Red-figured Vases of Apulia: Early and Middle Apulian. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Size: L:315mm / W:170mm; 1.7kgProvenance: Property of a London collector; Ex skinner Boston Estate, USA.