Black-Figure Neck-Amphora of Panathenaic Shape (Storage Vessel) (525–500 BCE): Art, History and Details

Black-Figure Neck-Amphora of Panathenaic Shape (Storage Vessel) (525–500 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The narrow neck and base of amphorae of this shape probably derive from vessels used to transport oil and wine long distances. Here, the painted decoration accentuates the shape, with simple rays at the base, tongues on the shoulder, and a double lotus-and-palmette chain on the neck. Added red rings separate these patterns, with black gloss covering most of the exterior; only the upper surface of the mouth is reserved. Similarly shaped vases decorated with Athena on the front and athletic or equestrian scenes on the back were filled with Athenian olive oil and awarded as prizes to victors in the Panathenaic games.

Object facts

• Title: Black-Figure Neck-Amphora of Panathenaic Shape (Storage Vessel)
• Date: 525–500 BCE
• Culture: Greek, Attic
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: ceramic
• Dimensions: Overall: 41.4 cm (16 5/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1923.644

A detail from the museum

The shape of this amphora mimics those of larger, figured prize vases.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Beazley Archive. n.d. Beazley Archive Pottery Database. Oxford: Beazley Archive.
• R. H. "Recent Accessions of Greek Pottery." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 10, no. 10 (1923): 178-91.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.