IRON AGE CIRCA 1000-500 B.C.

Here you find an exquisite ancient vase from Cyprus. The vessel has a globular body with flat bottom and slender neck topped with a round funnel-shaped mouth with twin opposing handles. It is an attractive amphoriskos with concentric circles on both sides with horizontal bands framing them. Vessels such as this one were imported into throughout Mediterranean and Middle East from Cyprus in ancient times because of its strong commercial influence. This vase belongs to a type of pottery known as bichrome ware because of its painted decoration and geometric style. The geometric ornament such as the concentric circles on the globular body were used not only to harmonize but enhance the shape of the body. Measures 5 ¼ in height.

For further reference see: The Art of Ancient Cyprus by Desmond Morris (Oxford 1985)

Provenance: Collected by Gustave Jéquier (1868-1946)

Galleria Delvecchio .… “is pleased to present a collection of Egyptian antiquities assembled by the celebrated Swiss Egyptologist Gustave Jéquier. Jéquier was born in 1868 in Neuchatel. He first studied in Paris under Gaston Maspero (1846-1916) and later went to Berlin before joining the de Morgan expedition to Persia, during which time he contributed to the discovery and decipherment of the code of Hammurabi. Gustave Jéquier was a giant in the field of Egyptology whose contributions are far too numerous to list here. He is best know for his association with the French Institute in Cairo which enabled him to engage in seminal research at the pyramid site of the Old Kingdom. He also completed the work begun at Abydos by his Swiss compatriot, [Henri] Eduard Naville (1844-1926). The two are considered to be Switzerland’s most preeminent Egyptologists. One of Jéquier’s most important discoveries was the 13th Dynasty pyramid of Khendjer. He wrote extensively on his history of Egyptian architecture, and published on philology and religion as well. Gustave Jéquier died in 1946 in the city in which he was born, and most of his collection was acquired by the University of Basel. The works of art presented here were given to a sibling who emigrated to the US in the late 1940’s; the collection later passed to their daughter, Jéquier’s niece.”