The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

The black surface and gray core of this vase identify it as bucchero, a distinctive class of Etruscan ceramics. The shape, which has a flaring rim, hemispherical bowl, horizontal handles, and a disc-shaped foot, was produced in the late 7th to early 6th century BCE. This example features engraved decoration in groups of parallel horizontal lines on the bowl. Functioning as a cup, vessels such as this were commonly used in funerary banquets but were also appropriate for use in sanctuaries. No archaeological provenience (findspot) is known for this piece, but the dealer’s documents state it came from Cerveteri, Italy, along with another cup in the collection (CA 6558). Stylistically it is similar to products of the region, although the shape of the cup is known from other sites and was also exported by the Etruscans.