Guttus with Bear-Head Spout

Place of OriginItaly, reportedly found in a tomb in Campania

DateLate 4th century BCE

DimensionsH (to top of handle): 2 7/8 in.; H (to shoulder): 1 3/4 in.; Diam (body): 4 3/8 in.; Diam (body with spout): 5 1/4 in.; Base Diam: 3 5/16 in.

MediumMolded earthenware with black slip and applied decoration

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor

Object number

1983.103A-B

Not on View

DescriptionA squat, rounded vessel (guttus, 1983.103A) formed from two mold-made halves joined at the shoulder. The body features vertical incised ribbing (reeding) and is coated in a lustrous black slip. A ring handle is applied vertically to the shoulder. The spout is molded in the form of a bear's head with stippled fur texture where it joins the body. The vessel rests on a profiled foot with a reserved (unpainted) resting surface. It is surmounted by a separate wheel-thrown lid (1983.103B) with a knob shaped like a stylized pine cone.

Label TextThis elegant little vessel, known as a guttus, was designed to pour liquid drop by drop—likely perfumed oil used to refill clay lamps. Its glossy black surface was intended to mimic the appearance of expensive tarnished silver, a popular style in the Greek colonies of Southern Italy. While many such vessels feature spouts shaped like lion heads, this example sports a rare and finely detailed bear’s head. The ribbed body and metallic sheen are characteristic of "Calene" ware, produced in the Campanian town of Cales.Comparative ReferencesSee also Lamb, W., Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Great Britain fasc. 6, Cambridge, fasc. 1, London, 1930, pl. XLI, no. 13.