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Amphora (Storage Jar)

Terracotta vessel glazed in black, decorated with an orange figure of a woman holding a shield and a spear.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Terracotta vessel glazed in black, decorated with an orange figure of a woman holding a shield and a spear.

Date:

460-450 BCE

Artist:

Attributed to the Achilles Painter
Greek; Athens

About this artwork

This vase has a distinctive shape characterized by an elongated ovoid body on a thick disk foot, an offset flaring neck, an inverted lip with grooves for a lid, and handles that rise from the shoulder and curve below the height of the mouth to join the neck. The type is called a Nolan amphora, after Nola, Italy, the site where the first examples of this shape were discovered and where this example was also found. It probably contained wine, olives, or oil. Nolan amphorae are small, usually less than fifteen inches high. Figures are drawn between the handles on the front and back. Below, a length of meander pattern provides a ground line.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist

Achilles Painter

Title

Amphora (Storage Jar)

Place

Athens (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

460 BCE–450 BCE

Medium

terracotta, red-figure

Dimensions

34.3 × 18.2 cm (13 1/2 × 7 1/8 in.); Diam.: 18.2 cm (7 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1889.17

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/166/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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