DRAG IMAGE TO ROTATE ARTWORK
Olpe (Corinthian black-figure ware)
630 BCE-620 BCE
Medium
earthenware
Measurements
39.0 × 23.5 × 20.7 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1961
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This olpe, or large jug for pouring wine, is decorated with four bands of lively animals: goats, lions, panthers, bulls, sphinxes and geese. The inspiration came from the East, where the Greek colonies in Asia Minor (modern day Türkiye) had come into contact with oriental design motifs on textiles, ivories and metalwork. The ancient city of Corinth dominated the pottery market in the seventh and early sixth centuries BCE, and it was here that the black-figure technique was invented. In Assyrian and Mesopotamian art, processions of animals walk behind each other in an orderly manner, but this is not typically the case in Greek art. These Corinthian animals confront each other in ill-assorted pairs and are snarling, grazing or tail-waving with typical Greek individuality.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Corinth, Greece
Inscription
none
Accession Number
268-D5
Department
Antiquities
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
Jug with an ovoid body, wide flaring mouth, strap handle and on the rim two circular lugs either side of the handle. Around the neck a narrow fillet. Decorated with aimal friezes of lions, panthers, goats and sphinxes. On the body, between the animals are solid black rosettes and on the neck dotted rosettes. At the base are short rays. The details are in added purple/red and white. On the underside is a brown dot at the centre and a brown circle. The neck is black within.