Greek
A Greek terracotta votive basin fragment, Sicily, Archaic, circa 525 - 500 BC
Terracotta
Length: 48 cm
The fragment is from the rim of a very large votive basin. The exterior edge is moulded in relief with alternating panels separated by fluted architectural columns. The scene is...
The fragment is from the rim of a very large votive basin. The exterior edge is moulded in relief with alternating panels separated by fluted architectural columns. The scene is of a victorious charioteer in a race. The first panel shows a quadriga, with a charioteer driving the four horses, a dove is in flight above. The second panel depicts a winged Nike running to the left, wearing winged boots, and carrying prizes for the victor. She is shown holding a goose in one hand and a victory wreath in the other. The scenes are bordered with a band of strokes above and a band of triangles below.
Provenance
With Donati, Lugano, 1999With Charles Ede Limited, London (Ancient Terracotta Sculpture, catalogue XVI, March 2000, no. 51)
UK private collection, acquired in 2000 from the above
Literature
This basin belongs to a group of terracotta louteria (λουτήρια, large basins on pedestals for ritual washing) produced in Ancient Sicily and impressed with cylinder-roll matrices. For similar scene cf. Agrigento Regional Archaeological Museum, Sicily, inv. no. C. 315.For the motif of the quadriga and the running Nike, see C. Vermeule, III, 'Chariot Groups in Fifth-Century Sculpture,' JHS 75, 1975, pp. 104-113; M. P. Rossignani, 'Frammento di orlo di vaso a rilievo da Agrigento,' Notizie dal Chiostro del Monastero Maggiore 1-2, 1968, pp. 64-65.