Patera Handle in the form of a Kouros with Rams

This patera handle is in the form of a nude youth standing serenely above a delicate palmette. With raised arms, he supports a base resting on his head, terminating in roughly drawn volutes on either side. Two rams lie on this base, facing away from each other, their heads touching the curved rim of the pan. Volutes behind their heads and a diamond-shaped, palmette-decorated plate between them reinforce the base of the handle. The endplate, which rested against the side of the vessel, is decorated on the reverse with a delicately engraved palmette above a double volute. The handle is of low volume; the slender, frontally oriented body of the youth is strikingly flat despite the taut muscles. The symmetrical face is characterized primarily by the large, protruding, almond-shaped eyes. The hair forms a double ring of curls above the forehead; on both sides, it falls in long, stepped waves, marked by heavy engraving. On the back, the hair is only roughly divided into broad strands. Bowls with anthropomorphic handles were probably developed in the Peloponnese and experienced a golden age in Greece during the second half of the 6th century BC. The group to which our handle belongs is well represented by a considerable number of handles and also complete bowls. Based on the find sites, these bronze objects were apparently produced in workshops in southern Italy, most likely located in Rhegium or Locri. The type and various stylistic features allow for a dating of the handle presented here to around 500 B.C.