Two-handled jar (amphora) depicting the birth of Athena
about 540 B.C.
Place of ManufactureAthens, Attica, Greece
Medium/TechniqueCeramic, Black Figure
DimensionsHeight: 39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)
Credit LineHenry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession number00.330
On View
On viewClassificationsVessels
Collections
ProvenanceBetween 1828 and 1840, possibly excavated on the estate of the Prince of Canino, Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840), near Vulci, Italy [see note 1]. After 1851, Bram Hertz (b. 1793/4-d. 1865), London, UK [note 2]; January 1857, sold by Bram Hertz to Joseph Mayer (b. 1803-d. 1886), Liverpool, UK [note 3]; September 7, 1859, B. Hertz sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 2956. Before 1869, William Henry Forman (b. 1794 - d. 1869), Pippbrook House, Dorking, UK; after 1869, by inheritance to Mrs. Burt; about 1889, by descent to Major A. H. Browne, Callaly Castle, Northumberland, UK; June 21, 1899, W. H. Forman sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 312. By 1900, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), London; 1900, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA. (Accession date: February 1, 1900)
Notes:
[1] E. Gerhard, Auserlesene Griechische Vasenbilder (1840), p. 5.
[2] This amphora does not feature in the 1851 catalogue of the B. Hertz collection (B. Hertz, Catalogue of the Collection of Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Indian, Peruvian and Mexican Antiquities, formed by B. Hertz (1851)).
[3] The British Museum website details the story of the sale: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=8871&partId=1&searchText=aztec+warrior&page=1
Notes:
[1] E. Gerhard, Auserlesene Griechische Vasenbilder (1840), p. 5.
[2] This amphora does not feature in the 1851 catalogue of the B. Hertz collection (B. Hertz, Catalogue of the Collection of Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Indian, Peruvian and Mexican Antiquities, formed by B. Hertz (1851)).
[3] The British Museum website details the story of the sale: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=8871&partId=1&searchText=aztec+warrior&page=1
the Group of Würzburg 199
about 510–500 B.C.
Group of Munich 1501
510–500 B.C.
the Antiope Group
about 520–510 B.C.
the Lancut Group
late 6th/early 5th century B.C
