Greek, made near Athens
Attributed to the Chicago Painter (his Name Vase)
Stamnos (Wine Jar), c. 450 B.C.
Terracotta, red-figure technique
Height: 37 cm (14 5/8 in.); Diameter of handles: 41.9 cm (16 1/2 in.); Diameter of rim: 21.1 cm (8 5/16 in.)
Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1889.22
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Greek vases were made for use, but they were also prized for their refined shapes and adornment that we continue to admire today. This example, a stamnos, probably held wine and is said to have been found in Capua, Italy, in 1884. It is decorated in the red-figure technique, so called because the figures have been left in the natural reddish-orange color of the clay and surrounded by black glaze. The scenes on both sides of this wine jar depict preparations for a festival in honor of Dionysos, the god of wine. Athenian women decorated jars like this stamnos with wreaths of ivy leaves, which were sacred to Dionysos. In each scene a woman holds a thyrsos, an ivy-topped staff carried by Dionysos and his followers.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
Greek Vase Painting in Midwestern Collections, The Art Institute of Chicago, no. 111, Dec. 22, 1979 to Feb. 4, 1980.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 155, 1994 - July, 2009 and October 2009 - February 2012.
A Case for Wine: From King Tut to Today
July 11 – September 20, 2009. Regenstein Hall, The Art Institute of Chicago
Publication History
W. M. R. French, Notes [on a] journey to Europe with Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Hutchinson starting from New York Sat'y Mch. 9, 1889- , p. 25. Ryerson Library, AIC 920 F87n.
