Red-figure bail amphora

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Photograph by Dave Revette.
Red-figure bail amphora
Photograph by Dave Revette.
Datemid 4th century B.C.E.
MediumTerracotta
DimensionsOverall: 14 1/8 × 4 13/16 in. (35.9 × 12.2 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Edward S. Burgess, Class of 1879, H1904
Object number1929.40
On view
DescriptionThere is a woman standing facing an altar. She is holding a mirror, which could be indicative of several things including inner-reflection, contemplation, introspection, an attribute of Venus, an invitation for death, or an example of the daily life of women. She also holds a lepaste, a four compartment box often employed as a toilet-box. The inside of the lepaste is divided into four equal compartments, each with a lid, and a centre socket. Saplings spring from the ground and there is a window box or pinax in the upper right. A pinax, or a board, represents a painted votive tablet commonly made of either terracotta, wood, marble or bronze that was placed in sanctuaries or burial chambers. These scenes have to do with offerings of the death, which is appropriate as these vessels were intended for the grave. Reverse: Draped youth with decorative rosette, saplings, and a window box or pinax, which represents a painted votive tablet commonly made of terracotta, wood, marble or bronze that was placed in sanctuaries or burial chambers.

Additional Details

Alternate Titles Storage jar
Campanian red-figure bail amphora
Exhibition History 2015
Clinton, NY. Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Seek and Find," September 1, 2015 - ongoing (no cat., brochure).

2012
Clinton, NY. Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Case Histories: The Hidden Meaning of Objects," October 6, 2012 - (no cat.).

2011
Clinton, NY. Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College. "Learning to Look: Hamilton's Cabinets, Galleries and Museums Past, Present and Future," September 15 - December 16, 2011 (no cat.).

2006
Clinton, NY. Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College. "Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 16- December 30, 2006 (no cat.).

2005
Clinton, NY. Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College. Hamilton Collects, "A Century of Curiosities: The Story of the Hamilton College Collection," September 29 - December 30, 2005 (unnumbered cat.).

1987
Clinton, NY. Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College. "Ancient Vases: The Hamilton College Collection," March 14 - May 11, 1987 (cat. no. 48, illus., 39).

Provenance 1929: Hamilton College (James Library) by bequest of Edward S. Burgess
Published References ANCIENT VASES FROM THE HAMILTON COLLEGE COLLECTION AND THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM (exh. cat. Clinton, NY: Fred L. Emerson Gallery, 1987), 39.
Photograph by Dave Revette.
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: mid 4th century B.C.E.
Medium: Terracotta
Object number: 1929.39
Photograph by David Revette.
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: mid 4th century B.C.E.
Medium: Terracotta
Object number: 1929.43
Dayanita Singh
Date: 2018
Medium: 30 image cards, teak wood enclosure, and inscribed napkin
Object number: 2019.8
© Zana Briski, courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery. Photo by John Bentham.
Zana Briski
Date: 2020
Medium: Unique gold-toned photogram on gelatin silver paper
Object number: 2024.12.1
Tubulcain o l'arte di lavorare I Metalli (Tubulcain or The Art of Metalworking)
Giotto di Bondone
Date: 1875-1900
Medium: Albumen print
Object number: S2018.2.405
© Renée Stout. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, C…
Renée Stout
Date: 2022
Medium: Oil and acrylic on wood panel
Object number: 2023.3
Photograph by Dave Revette.
Date: 19th century
Medium: Brass
Object number: 1994.40
Oni in a box netsuke
Unknown artist, Japanese
Date: 19th century
Medium: Boxwood, mother-of-pearl
Object number: 1992.13
Photograph by John Bentham.
Vanessa German
Date: 2016
Medium: Mixed-media assemblage
Object number: 2016.15
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clint…
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2018
Medium: Single-channel video
Object number: 2018.6
© Rhona Bitner, ADAGP, Artists Rights Society, New York. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer W…
Rhona Bitner
Date: 2022
Medium: Archival pigment print
Object number: 2024.7.1
The Precocious Girl (Ochappii)
Kitagawa Utamaro
Date: c. 1802-1803
Medium: Nishiki-e color woodblock print on paper
Object number: 1996.15.38