Skyphos Ancient Greek, Magna Graecia, Apulia, 4th century BC Pottery 10 cm height and 19 cm long Provenance: - Private colecction, France, 1970’s. Condition: Good, one breakline in one lateral (rejoined), see photos. Skyphos-type ceramic vessels were common vessels in Magna Graecia (southern Italy and Sicily) during the 6th to 4th centuries BC, a period of intense Greek colonisation. The skyphos is a deep vessel, with two small horizontal handles, used primarily for drinking wine, often in social contexts such as the symposium. In Magna Graecia, these vessels adopted local decorative styles, influenced by Attic pottery, but also developed characteristics of their own. Among the most notable are the red-figured skyphoi, a technique in which the figures were reserved in the natural colour of the clay while the background was painted black. The subjects depicted include mythological scenes, rituals, Dionysian motifs and aspects of everyday life. Important workshops emerged in regions such as Apulia, Lucania and Campania, where craftsmen fused Hellenistic traditions with indigenous elements. These vessels had not only a utilitarian function, but also a symbolic and funerary one, as they were often deposited as offerings in tombs. The Magna Graecia skyphos is thus a testimony to an intense cultural exchange, reflecting the syncretism between Greek tradition and Italic influences in the colonial context.