Jug in the Shape of a Barrel
Ancient Cypriot
750-550 BCE
Medium
terracotta, bichrome
Dimensions
32.4 × 33 × 24.4 cm (12 3/4 × 13 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
110643
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Cyprus was an important center for trade and commerce throughout antiquity. By the Late Bronze Age (about 1600–1050BC), the island was producing large quantities of copper, which lured adventurous seafaring merchants to its shores in the hope of exchanging their cargo for the prized metal. Imported goods and migrant artists profoundly influenced Cypriot potters and painters, who began to create and decorate their wares differently. New products served the Cypriots’ domestic and ritual needs or m...