Oinochoe (Wine Pitcher) with Lid

Artist The Painter of Vatican 73 (Greek)

Place of OriginGreece, Corinth; reportedly found in Cerveteri, Italy

Date640-630 BCE

DimensionsH (to top of handle): 9 13/16 in. (24.9 cm); Max Diam: 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm); Max W (mouth): 6 17/32 in. (16.6 cm); Diam (foot): 8 15/32 in. (21.5 cm); H (lid): 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm); Max W (lid): 6 1/32 in. (15.3 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware with incised details

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1963.23A-B

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis wide, round-bottomed pitcher sits low with a gently curving body and a flaring, three-lobed mouth. A tall handle arcs upward from the rim to the shoulder, while a conical lid with a knob fits neatly on top. Around the vase runs a lively frieze of animals and mythical creatures: at the center, a siren with short hair is flanked by long-haired sphinxes, followed by alternating lions, panthers, bulls, deer, and goats. The surface is richly decorated with rows of patterned bands, rosettes, and tongue motifs in black, red, white, and yellow slips. Fine incised lines add detail to the figures. The vase was wheel-thrown and would have been both a functional and decorative object.

Label TextVividly decorated and masterfully symmetrical, the above oinochoe showcases the work of The Painter of Vatican 73. Although one of the most prolific painters of Corinth during this period, the identity of the artist remains lost; scholars have been able to distinguish his work by identifying his characteristic symmetry and precise arrangement of animals and creatures in clearly defined rows (the feline, sphinx, siren, sphinx, feline is one of the painter’s typical arrangements). The Painter of Vatican 73 specialized in oinochoai and olpai and was once thought to have painted the olpe also in display in this case.Published ReferencesMünzen und Medaillen A.G. Auktion, XXVI (Basel) 5, Oktober 1963, pp. 29-30, and pl. 18, lot no. 59.

Wittmann, Otto, editor, "Treasures for Toledo," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 7, no. 4, Winter 1964, p. 78, repr.

Amyx, Darrell A. and P. Lawrence, "Adversaria Critica: In and Around the Spinx Painter," American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 68, no. 3, 1964, p. 389, no. 13.

Riefstahl, Rudolph M., "Greek Vases," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 11, no. 2, 1968, p. 31, repr.

Luckner, Kurt T., "Greek Vases: Shapes and Uses," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 15, no. 3, 1972, pp. 74, 75, fig. 17.

Amyx, Darrell A., Corinthian Vase Painters, Berkeley, p. 68, no. 1-12.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Toledo Museum of Art, fasc. 2, U.S.A. fasc. 20, Mainz, 1984, pl. 71.

Amyx, Darrell A., Corinthian vase-painting of the archaic period, Berkeley, 1988, p. 68.

Exhibition HistoryTreasures for Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Dec. 1964 - Jan. 1965.