Skip to Content

Oinochoe (Pitcher)

A work made of terracotta, black-figure.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of terracotta, black-figure.

Date:

640-625 BCE

Artist:

Greek; Corinth

About this artwork

This jug was probably used to serve wine at gatherings. The pinched mouth forms a narrow channel that controls the flow of its contents when poured.

The seventh century marks the beginning of the Archaic period (700–480 BC). In Corinth, vase painters embellished their pottery with creatures, both real and imaginary, and sometimes humans and gods. These artisans also explored new methods of decoration, often painting their subjects in silhouette with black gloss and added details by incising through the black to reveal the lighter clay below. Sometimes a reddish-purple or creamy white gloss was also added, as is the case here.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Oinochoe (Pitcher)

Place

Corinth (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.

640 BCE–625 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-figure

Dimensions

24.8 × 18.2 × 18.2 cm (9 3/4 × 7 1/8 × 7 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1892.255

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/641/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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share