Last week I went to the National Museum of Anthropology to see a special exhibit entitled "Forms and Colors from Pre-Roman Italy.
The exhibit was small but contained some large and very impressive pieces of ceramics from the Dauni people. The Dauni tribe lived in northern Apulia along the Adriatic coast of Italy. Between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C., before the Romans had conquered the peninsula, the Dauni produced outstanding ceramics. The pieces in this exhibit were found in the tombs of nobles near the present-day town of Canosa. Since southern Italy had been colonized by Greek settlements, these pieces definitely show strong Greek influence, but they are also quite distinctive. The ceramics were all polychromed, and some of them still show the original colors.
Here are a few of the ancient works in the show...
An urn with a team of horses on the body and Gorgon heads on the handles
A pot with a Gorgon head and female figures
A ritual water vessel with beautifully preserved painting
A plate for offerings with a scene of a warrior fighting an Amazon
A large jug with horses and female figures
A collection of jars in the form of female heads
Two large clay figures of women at prayer
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