Bowl with basket-like handles and female heads on the rim
Greek, around 600 BC
Made in Chios, Southern Aegean; from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite,
Naukratis, Egypt
Dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty
This bowl is painted in the 'Wild Goat' style: wild goats and
other animals and birds stalk the inner and outer walls, while
moulded female heads decorate the rim and handles. The bowl was
found in the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Naukratis, a Greek trading
settlement in the Nile Delta. The graffito scratched inside the rim
records its dedication to Aphrodite by a man named Sostratos.
The Greeks came to Egypt mainly to acquire corn, though they may
also have been interested in Egyptian linen. In exchange they are
likely to have brought wine, olive oil, and most importantly
silver, in the form of coins. Greek writers tell us that the
Egyptian king Amasis (570-526 BC) gave land at Naukratis to the
Greeks. However, archaeological evidence reveals that the site was
in use by Greeks long before Amasis' reign. At Naukratis the Greeks
were free to worship their own gods, and much of the pottery found
there is scratched or painted with messages recording dedications
to Zeus, Apollo, Hera, Aphrodite or the Dioskouroi. The types of
pottery found, and the fact that dedicators sometimes named their
native cities, indicate that the principal users of the settlement
were either from the East Greek cities or from the island of
Aigina.
L. Burn, The British Museum book of Gre (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)
J. Boardman, The Greeks overseas, revised and enlarged edition (London, Thames and Hudson, 1980)
J. Boardman, Early Greek vase painting: 11t (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)