Terracotta Nicosthenic neck-amphora (jar)

Unknown

late 7th–6th century BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

This distinctive form of amphora with strap handles and a neck sharply separated from the body is originally Etruscan. The decoration here is limited to diagonal lines of impressed dots between pairs of relief lines. During the second half of the sixth century the shape was reinterpreted in Athenian pottery establishments for an Etruscan clientele. The fabric became thinner and, thanks to the techniques of black-figure and red-figure, allowed for vegetal and pictorial embellishment.The principal Athenian workshop purveying such vases to Etruria was that of Nikosthenes.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 7th–6th century BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Etruscan

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of L. P. di Cesnola, 1875