Lot 39
39
A GREEK BLACK-FIGURE HANDLED MUG WITH AN OCTOPUS
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus bu… Read more
A GREEK BLACK-FIGURE HANDLED MUG WITH AN OCTOPUS

LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details
A GREEK BLACK-FIGURE HANDLED MUG WITH AN OCTOPUS
LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.
The rounded lower body with large octopus, its eight spiralling tentacles extending over the base, details of eyes and additional spiral to a tentacle painted in red
2¾ in. (7.1 cm.) high
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Animals, 1981, I, no. 126; and Noah's Ark, 1997, no. 7.

Octopus was a favourite food of the ancients; the best fishing grounds for it were off Thasos and Caria. It was admired not only for its sweetness, but also because it was thought to be an aphrodisiac.

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