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Two-handled jar (amphora) depicting the birth of Athena
Greek
Archaic Period
about 540 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Black Figure
Dimensions
Height: 39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number00.330
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
CVA Boston 1, pl. 05.
DescriptionFace A: Zeus, with thunderbolt in hand, sits on an ornate throne to right. A miniature Athena, fully armed, springs from his head. At right, Eileithyia gestures towards Athena and Ares stands in full armor. At left, Apollo plays the kithara and Hermes stands behind him.
Face B: Frontal four-horse chariot (quadriga) and rider. A bird flies from right to left.
Face B: Frontal four-horse chariot (quadriga) and rider. A bird flies from right to left.
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