Subgeometric peucetian Kantharos
| Measures | h 12,6; ø foot 7; ø edge 11,7 |
| Place and chronology | Salentino - Tomb. 23. Second half of the sixth century BC |
A particular type of cup is the so-called kàntharos, a vase with high and curvilinear handles, allowing a good grip by the drinker.
In ancient times, this type of cup was associated with the cult of the god Dionysus (Bacchus in the Roman age) as evidenced by the vascular depictions of the wine harvest and banquet scenes.
In addition to Greece, the kàntharos, already in the Archaic period (VII-VI century BC), was very widespread throughout the Italic sphere.
In central Apulia the kàntharos is one of the most widely used types of ceramic forms between the VI and V centuries BC. In Peucetia there are numerous findings of kantharoi with sub-geometric decoration, so much so that they can be said to be the type of vase that most characterizes this culture in the VI and V centuries BC. The decoration was made with geometric motifs in various compositions that in the most ancient samples cover only the upper part of the vase, to then extend, subsequently, to the entire surface. The most used colour was black-brown, rarer was the two-toned decoration in which red was also used.
