Amphora (Storage Jar)
530-520 BCE
Medium
terracotta, black-figure
Dimensions
38.7 × 27.9 × 19.4 cm (15 1/4 × 11 × 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
198337
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
During the sixth and fifth centuries BC, the Etruscans, who lived north of Rome, increasingly imported Athenian ceramics decorated with scenes of Greek mythology, religion, and daily life. Made of fine, iron-rich clay that fired orange, decorated with a rich black gloss, and sometimes embellished with white and purple-red details, the ceramic vessels produced in Athens were the finest of Classical antiquity. Etruscan artists, no doubt eager to capitalize on the high demand for Greek vases, and ...