The skyphoid pyxis was a very popular vase type in the Greek Colony of Sicily. This absolutely RARE terracotta vessel has an ovoid body with two horizontal, loop handles and a knobbed lid. Obverse decorated with a winged figure of Eros having a drapery over his left arm. Reverse side bears draped figure holding a tambourine but is virtually gone. Large palmettes under handles, grape vine on the lid. Substantial paint loss, chip on the edge of the knob, flakes on the lid. Measures 8 1/4 inches high. Dates to approx. 350 B.C.
Provenance: Marcel Gibrat Collection, USA., New York Gallery
Cf. Trendall, Arthur D. "Red Figure Vases of South Italy & Sicily", New York, NY, U.S.A.: Thames & Hudson, 1989. page 243
“Marcel Gibrat (Pictured working on a Greek Kylyx in the 1970s), my grandfather, was a Restorer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and later owned a Madison Avenue Restoration Studio and Art Gallery one block from the Guggenheim Museum. From the 1960s to 1990s. Marcel was undoubtedly a genius and was, as far as I know, the only Restorer for the Met without a PhD. In fact he had a sixth grade education. He was also a talented painter.……. Marcel began purchasing antiquities, tribal art, Asian art and European art beginning in the early to mid 1960s and many of the pieces in the collection were purchased at this time. He collected, restored, bought and sold high quality items for the better part of three decades, before falling ill and being unable to work in 1992. Marcel was an unquestioned expert in antiquities and all items in the collection from the ancient world are guaranteed to be authentic. Marcel also had a particular affinity for African tribal art, and while dating such items is problematic, he absolutely had impeccable taste.” Max Lewin
