Getty Museum

Amphora

Date

A.D. 1–79

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Roman

Department

Vessels

Institution

Getty Museum

The handles of this otherwise undecorated amphora (storage jar) are adorned with two satyr masks in profile—one facing left, the other right. An applique in the shape of a frontal female head – perhaps a maenad – decorates the base of each handle, framed by volutes above and a palmette below. These figures represent companions of the wine god Bacchus. 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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