Food Storage Jar (Heron Class Olla)
Artist/Maker
Artist Unknown
Artist Unknown
Dateca. 700-675 BCE
CultureEtruscan
Mediumpottery and paint
DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 x 17 5/8 x 14 7/8 in. (39.4 x 44.8 x 37.8 cm)
ClassificationsContainers
Credit LineMuseum purchase through the 1998 Director's Circle and the Lowe Art Museum Acquisitions Fund
Terms
Object number98.0004
On View
On viewCollections
DescriptionThis early 7th century BCE Etruscan olla was probably used as a cinerary urn in a grave. Etruria was a wealthy and powerful region of Italy, whose arts were enriched indigenously and by Greek artists who settled there to work for wealthy patrons. The vessel is a basic, bulbous mixing jar shape, but the simplified, schematized designs and patterns that encircle it in bands form a direct link to the further development of vase painting and design in Greece and Italy. Animals and human figures were first introduced into pottery decoration during this Geometric Period. In this example, stylized herons, which particularly characteristic of Etruscan pottery decoration, and a horse occupy the zones between concentric circles.- Art of the Ancient Mediterranean
