Ca. 400-300 BC. Daunian. A wonderful wheel-thrown pottery kantharos (wine cup) with a footed base, bulbous body, rounded shoulders, an everted lip, and two high strap handles. The extant black pigment shows that the kantharos' body was decorated with a black central band flanked above and below by linear decoration; the neck and foot were also entirely black, while the lip displays black claw-shaped decoration. The Daunians were famed for their beautiful geometric pottery, which was hand-formed, rather than made by wheel, and decorated in both bichrome and polychrome palettes. In later periods, their decorative technique expanded to include crudely-rendered figures and animals. For a Daunian kantharos of similar shape, see https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-four-daunian-pottery-vessels-circa-6th-3rd-century-6224274/?from=searchresults&intObjectID=6224274. For a comprehensive treatment of Daunian pottery, see De Juliis, E. M. (1977). La ceramica geometrica della Daunia. Firenze: G.C. Sansoni. Size: L:105mm / W:135mm ; 170g. Provenance: From the private collection of a Kent gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed before 2000 on the UK /European art markets.