Amphora (storage vessel)

Place of OriginGreek, Laconian

Dateabout 560 BCE

DimensionsH: 10 29/32 in. (27.7 cm); Diam (rim): 4 17/32 in. (11.5 cm); Max Diam (body): 7 19/32 in. (19.3 cm); Diam (foot): 4 9/16 in. (11.6 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

1964.53

On View

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

Label TextA testament to the austere society of ancient Lakonia, the precise and orderly decoration of this amphora reflects the rigidity of the province’s capital, Sparta. Sparta is well known for its intense focus on military strength and order. Painted by the Naukratis Painter, the above amphora takes inspiration from Corinth, the most important city-state of this period. Corinth dominated trade on the isthmus and became a center for artistic inspiration. Lying halfway between Sparta and its rival, Athens, Corinth was able to become a sort of muse for Lakonian art, thus creating a mixture between mechanic attention to detail and brilliant animal friezes found on this amphora.Published References"Accessions of American and Canadian Museums," Art Quarterly, vol. 29, nos. 3-4, 1966, p. 289, repr. p. 291.

Vermeule, Emily, "Myths, Shapes and Colors," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 420, 421, fig. 4.

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

A Guide to the Collections, Toledo Museum of Art, 1966, repr. p. [8].

Luckner, Kurt T., "Greek Vases: Shapes and Urns," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 15, no. 31, 1972, p. 64, fig. 4.

Stibbe, C.M., Lakonische Vasenmaler, Amsterdam, 1972, pp. 64 (Group F), 78-79, 271, no. 41, pl. 22, 1-4.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Toledo Museum of Art fasc. 2, U.S.A. fasc. 20, Mainz, 1984, pl. 80.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 40, repr. (col.).

Boardman, John, Early Greek vase painting, London, 1998, p. 187, fig. 412, p. 205.

Exhibition History"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art, 1964.