ostracon ancient art
catalogue

Etruscan Impasto Amphora, White-on-Red Ceramic, 650-625 BC

Impasto ware amphora with a dark orange slip and white paint.

Decorated with a frieze of upright palmettes and hatched lotus buds around the shoulder. Bands with ray pattern on the neck, further bands around the belly separated by horizontal lines.

The decorative scheme denotes familiarity with both Phoenician and Corinthian styles.

The ovoid body on a flaring foot, the cylindrical neck with an overhanging rim. Strap handles connecting rim and shoulder.

For a nearly identical example, cf. no. 42 in M. Martelli (ed). La Ceramica degli Etruschi. Novara 1987.

H. 40.5 cm (16 in)

Rare shape. White painting partially worn, carefully burnished surface with minor chipping. Small shards on rim and foot reattached with bone glue, a medium used until the 1950's.

Swiss private collection, from old family estate.

Sold 3500 USD
 

Literature: Maria Lucilla Medori. La ceramica "white-on-red" della media Etruria interna. Sistema museale del lago di Bolsena, Quaderni 11. Bolsena 2010.