Terracotta phiale (libation bowl)
Interior, ivy leaves
The phiale was used to pour libations, liquid offerings. Its size fits the hand perfectly with the middle fingers in the central hollow and the thumb at the lip. The decoration here was not executed in the traditional combination of glazed and unglazed areas. Instead, the motifs were applied in added color over the glaze before firing. The technique is named after Jan Six, a modern Dutch scholar who published an early study of it.
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