An Askos in the Form of a Snarling Boar

Magenta ware (terracotta)
Hellenistic, ca. 2nd/1st century BC
H. 14cm; L. 14cm

A lively askos in form of a boar, naturalistically rendered, with teeth exposed in a snarl and expressive eyes. It belongs to a class of pottery known as magenta-ware, referring to mould-made containers (mostly lamp fillers and flasks) in plastic forms. They were made in double moulds and joined together at a seam, and are typically thought to be geographically restricted to Campania. The subjects include mythology, the comic stage, genre, fantasy and animals.

Cf. R.A. Higgins, “Magenta Ware” in the British Museum Yearbook I (1976) pp. 1-32.

Exhibited: Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, as a loan by the collector for a number of years.

Condition: Recomposed from fragments. Joints invisible.

Provenance: Swiss private collection, Basel, before 1970

Item reference: CL1407