ITEM: Single-handled cup MATERIAL: Pottery CULTURE: Greek, Daunian PERIOD: 4th Century B.C DIMENSIONS: 33 mm x 117 mm x 100 mm CONDITION: Good condition, repaired PROVENANCE: Ex German private collection, S.Z., acquired between 1970 - 1992 Comes with Certificate of Authenticity and European Union export license If you bid outside European Union and win the item, we must request a new export license to your country and the shipment will delay between 3 - 5 weeks. The Daunian jug, or oinochoe, is a distinctive form of pottery created by the Daunians, an indigenous Iapygian tribe who inhabited the northern part of Apulia (modern-day Foggia and Barletta-Andria-Trani provinces) in southeastern Italy, a region that was later part of Magna Graecia. These hand-built terracotta vessels date primarily from the Iron Age through the 4th century BCE and stand out for their highly individualistic, non-Greek shapes and their vibrant, geometric decoration. While the term "jug" encompasses several forms, the Daunian variant is often characterized by a globular body, a long, narrow neck, a wide, flat rim that can resemble a plate, and often a single, prominent strap handle that arches high above the mouth. A defining feature of the Daunian jug, and Daunian pottery in general, is its purely geometric ornamentation, which remained largely uninfluenced by the figural scenes of contemporary Greek ceramics until the later phases of production. The decoration is typically applied in bichrome (two-color) or polychrome (multi-color) paint—usually dark violet, red, or black on a background of whitish or pale slip—and is organized into horizontal bands or listae. Motifs consist of rigorous geometric shapes like lozenges, triangles, squares, swastikas, and zigzags, which cover the upper half of the vessel. Unlike the wheel-made, mass-produced pottery of the Greek colonies, most Daunian jugs were meticulously hand-formed, a technique that reflects the deep-rooted local traditions of this ancient Italic culture. Daunian vessels, including various types of jugs, large kraters, and askoi (spouted flasks), are most frequently recovered from funerary contexts, indicating their crucial role as grave goods and ritual objects in the Daunian social and religious landscape. While the precise function of every type of jug is not always known, their overall purpose related to the storage and pouring of liquids, likely in banqueting or funerary rites. The major production centers were local towns like Canosa di Puglia and Ordona, whose regional workshops gave rise to specific typological variations. Over time, as Greek influence from the nearby colonies in Magna Graecia grew—especially after the 5th century BCE—later Daunian pottery began to incorporate more figurative, vegetal, and Hellenizing elements, eventually leading to a decline in the unique geometric style.