ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Amphora
AAT Object Form/Functionamphorae (storage vessels)
AAT Object Techniqueunderwater archaeology
Possible OriginGreece, Europe
Place ExcavatedCatalonia, Spain, Europe
CultureGreek
PeriodHellenistic
Datelate 4th Century BCE
MediumCeramic
Credit LineGift of Stanley S. Slotkin
Dimensions12 13/16 x 37 11/16 in. (32.5 x 95.8 cm)
Object number1966.325
Label TextAlthough recovered off the Spanish coast, the shape of this amphora (storage vessel) and its markings indicate that it came from Delos and belonged to a wealthy, local merchant. The islands of Delos and Rhodes, because of their geographical location, were major Mediterranean trading posts and had a large production of amphorae. Wine from vineyards around the Mediterranean was exported in great quantities in large ceramic jars, such as this amphora. The pointed bases of these vessels would be set in long wooden racks in the holds of cargo ships. Many shipwrecks from the Graeco-Roman Period have been identified only by the rows of barnacle-encrusted amphorae that dot the bottom of the sea.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - August 1995
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001 - 2013
ProvenanceEx coll. Stanley Slotkin (1905-1997), Los Angeles, California, collected from Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain, ca. 1956.
Status
Not on viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
ca. 585-575 BCE
5th Century BCE
early 4th Century BCE
2nd Century BCE
2nd-1st Century BCE
ca. 650-600 BCE
late 1st Century BCE-early 1st Century CE
539-331 BCE
