A pottery askos in the form of a 'duck' with a bulbous body with a convex top, a short cylindrical spout and a conjoined strap handle. The vessel is unglazed, painted with linear decoration in brown and black.
 
Daunian Italy: Sub-Geometric Period II: Circa 550-500 BC.
 
Very Fine condition: A small chip to the rim, the decoration a little faded in places.
Height 22.5 cms (8.9 ins).
Length 21.2 cms (8.3 ins).
 
Provenance: Kuizenga collection, the Netherlands; jar acquired in Dortmund 6th December 1986, the askoi acquired Dortmund 10th October 1987 and 7th November 1987.
 
For a similar, please see The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Object Number MS5871.
 
The Daunians were a tribe inhabiting northern Apulia (in southern Italy) in classical antiquity. Wheel-thrown pottery was practiced in the Italian peninsula only in Apulia until the Greeks returned around 760 BC to reintroduce their pottery techniques to the rest of Italy. The Daunians were famed for their beautiful geometric pottery, which was decorated in both polychrome and bichrome palettes.
 
The word "askos" comes from Greek and traditionally means a flask for pouring oil. It has a flat shape and a spout at one or both ends that can also be used as a handle.