Amphora with Polychrome and Relief Decoration

Description This vase is a superb example from a rare group of ornate vessels. Their undecorated backs suggest they were intended for display within a niche. The Eros figures carry the attributes of Dionysus, including torches, a pail, and a lyre. The use of color, the tall, narrow proportions, and the elongated finial with floral tip on the lid are characteristic of South Italian work.

Exhibitions

• From Alexander to Cleopatra: Greek Art of the Hellenistic Age. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1988-1989.

Provenance Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [cat. no. 246]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902