Amphora (Storage Jar)
4th century BCE
Medium
terracotta, red-figure
Dimensions
62.2 × 29.2 × 28.9 cm (24 1/2 × 11 1/2 × 11 3/8 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
242
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
With its monumental proportions, white volute handles, and red-figure decoration, this amphora bears a striking resemblance to vases from Apulia on the eastern coast of southern Italy. However, this vase belongs to the Faliscan culture, the Etruscans’ southernmost neighbor in the region of modern-day Tuscany. Together, the Etruscans and Faliscans would struggle against Roman expansion. The high quality and popularity of the Faliscan wares vied with Roman ceramic production, intensifying the tens...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...