Ca. 350–300 BC. Gnathian. A beautiful wheel-thrown drinking vessel with a short concave foot with central fillet, a bulbous body, cylindrical neck, a wide, flared rim, and an attached loop handle joining the neck to the shoulder. The mug is beautifully adorned in the traditional Gnathian manner with the application of different paints directly onto the glazed blackware surface – the added white and yellow pigments on the neck delineate spiralling tendrils whilst the upper register, just below the rim, exhibits a band of white V-shaped motifs. The Gnathian style originated from Apulia, a region located along the south-eastern coast of Italy. The Gnathian style consisted of a polychromic design applied onto a dark, varnished background and takes its name from the ancient southern Italian city of Egnathia, where this type of ware was first found in the mid-19th century. The primary colours used were red, white and yellow although white soon became the dominant colour. For a comprehensive treatment of Gnathian pottery, see T. B.L. Webster, “Towards a Classification of Apulian Gnathian,” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London 15 (1968): 13–18. Provenance: From Apollo Art auctions Ltd, who got it from the private collection of a Kent gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1990s on the UK /European art markets. Size: L:115mm / W:90mm ; 150g. See photos for condition. With certificate from Apollo Galleries Ltd.