Cypriot tall necked flagon with face: Middle Cypriot I - II (2000-1750 BC)
A Cypriot drab polished ware jug , the vulnerable elongated neck decorated with a stylised face formed of two pierced lugs for pierced ears and a transversely pierced lug for the nose. The arched handle has a double spurred thumb rest, the globular body has a short projection on the shoulder
I particularly enjoy the ancient Cypriot inclination to make pots into personages. This may have been the bare minimum to signify a spirit , or perhaps a female fertility figure suggested by the full body (see Washbourne). An unpractical form possibly made for the funeral feast with a ritual purpose. This type of “face” is typical of Drab Polished Ware askoi (sometimes zoomorphic) from the Limasol district (but also jugs from Paphos), and this jug shape in DPW, often with cut-away spout and animals and bowls depicted on the shoulders.
Desmond Morris believed this piece was Early Bronzer Age but I think it is more likely Middle Bronze Age.
Size: 40cm high
(Ex Desmond Morris collection, acquired prior to 1985. The Desmond Morris Collection; Christie's auction, London, 6 November 2001, lot 144. G. Kyriacou collection, London, acquired from the above sale. (Kyriacou is a Cypriot artist and sculptor living in London who formed a collection of ancient and modern pottery from the late 70s onwards. He was drawn by similarities between ancient Cypriot, 13th and 14th century Eastern ceramics and modern studio ceramics.. Published: D. Morris, The Art of Ancient Cyprus, Oxford, 1985, p. 50, Pl. 44b)
(Aquired Bonhams auction (London) lot 31)
DJ 172
Cypriot tall necked flagon with face Middle Cypriot I - II (2000-1750 BC)
