#guttus

“Guttus is a Latin word referring to a small vessel with vertical spout and ring handle, probably used for pouring small amounts of precious oils. Often, mold-made ceramic gutti take the form of animals, with realistic painted decoration. This lifelike frog features black stripes and alternating black and white circles.”

"Guttus is a Latin word referring to a small vessel with vertical spout and ring handle, probably used for pouring small amounts of precious liquids. Often, mold-made ceramic gutti take the form of animals, with realistic painted decoration."

~ Lamp-filler (guttus) in the form of a satyr. Culture: Greek, South Italian Period: Late Classical to Early Hellenistic Period Date: second half of 4th century B.C. Place of origin: Apulia, Italy

The body is decorated with two panthers and a lion with its head moulded to form the spout. A guttus was a vessel with a narrow mouth or neck, from which liquids were poured in drops (guttae). They were often used for sacrificial libations. 

The small terracotta pig is one of several rare objects found last May in Manduria, near Taranto in Puglia, when construction work exposed a Messapian tomb. Read more.