Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
A work made of terracotta, red-figure.

Oinochoe (Pitcher) in the Shape of a Female Head

about 450 BCE

Attributed to the Canessa Class Greek; Athens

Athens

Three manufacturing techniques were employed to produce this vessel. The lower portion, in the shape of a woman’s face, was made in a mold; the shoulder, neck, and mouth of the pitcher were formed on a potter’s wheel; and the handle was fashioned by hand. The woman's flesh and thick, centrally parted hair are the natural color of the clay, but her brows and the contours of her eyes and irises are drawn in black. Her sclerae are white, and her irises are brown.

terracotta, red-figure

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium