Getty Museum

Amphora

Date

A.D. 1–79

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Roman

Department

Vessels

Institution

Getty Museum

Attachments at the base of each handle on this tall amphora (storage jar) are fashioned in the shape of a female head wearing a lion’s skin—possibly depicting Omphale, a mythical queen of Lydia (in present-day Turkey), to whom the hero Hercules was enslaved for a time. An amphora of this type could have been used to hold wine at a banquet. Comparable examples have been found in the homes of wealthy Romans, such as those who owned luxurious residences on the Bay of Naples.

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