The displayed lagynos was found during excavations of the Bolshoi Kastel Estate by the Tarkhankut expedition. Such products were used as serving vessels. They became widespread during the late Hellenistic period. A characteristic feature of this one-handled jug is its narrow neck and low and wide body with sharply defined contours. The wide shoulders of the jug abruptly turn into side walls that taper to the bottom. The body stands on a low tray.
The handles are divided into rods in the longitudinal direction, and the neck, which has not been preserved, was short, unlike in other similar lagynos jugs. The vessel is covered in a yellowish-white coating, and there is painting on the shoulders, depicting an ivy wreath and ears of wheat.
The golden ears symbolize the fertility, the rebirth of nature that occurs every spring, and the divine gift of life. Ears and sheaves of wheat and other grains are associated with the gods responsible for the cycles of nature. Heart-shaped ivy leaves were associated with one of the most revered Greek gods, Dionysus, a patron of winemaking.
This lagynos was likely brought from Pergamon, an important trading partner for the ancient states in the Northern Black Sea region. Tableware and other ceramics were always among its exports. According to some Russian researchers, almost every second red lacquer vessel from the Northern Black Sea was made in Pergamon. Nowadays, there are many finds of such ceramics in the area.
The influence of the Pergamon ceramic tradition on the local production in the Northern Black Sea region can be seen, for example, in vessels with applied reliefs. Pergamon ceramics were imported to the Northern Black Sea from at least the second quarter of the 3rd century BCE. The import increased in the mid-2nd century BCE. After Pergamon became a part of the Roman province of Asia in 129 BCE, mass production of tableware and its active import were associated with a strong Roman influence. The import of Pergamon tableware peaked in the last quarter of the 2nd century and the first half of the 1st century BCE.
