A rare, yellow-slipped patera with a sculptural handle in the shape of a kouros, a naked youth with arms upraised as if to support the shallow bowl upon his head, the representation of the handle following conventions prevailing since the Archaic Period.
 
Ancient Greek Apulian South Italy: Circa late 4th–early 3rd century BC.
 
Very Fine condition; a professional repair to the handle at the level of the shoulders.
Length 37.5cms (14.76 ins) incl. handle
 
Provenance: De Munter collection, Brussels, ca. 2000.
with Jurgen Haering - Galerie am Museum, Freiburg.
Property from a Princely Collection (i.e. property from the private collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein), acquired from the above.
 
For another, similar terracotta patera see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 06.1021.254 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247419
 
A patera was a shallow bowl which could have a long handle and was used to make votive or funerary offerings to the gods. A completely preserved patera like this one is quite rare. As this type of vessel is well known in bronze examples, the ochre yellow that covers the body of the youth was probably meant to simulate polished metal.