Amphora with Polychrome and Relief Decoration
(Ancient Greece )
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.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
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.
Exhibitions
1988-1989 | From Alexander to Cleopatra: Greek Art of the Hellenistic Age. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Measurements
23 1/4 x 9 13/16 in. (59 x 25 cm);
6 11/16 in. (17 cm) (max. diam.)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.117