Terracotta vase in the shape of a cockerel

Period:
Archaic
Date:
ca. 650–600 B.C.
Culture:
Etruscan
Medium:
Terracotta; bucchero
Dimensions:
H. 4 1/16 in. (10.31 cm)
Classification:
Vases
Credit Line:
Fletcher Fund, 1924
Accession Number:
24.97.21a, b
  • Description

    This small vase, inscribed with the twenty-six letters of the Etruscan alphabet, may have been a container for ink. The head acts as a stopper and could be attached to the bird’s body by a cord. The missing tail no doubt curved downward to form a third foot.

  • References

    Alexander, Christine. 1925. "Classical Inscriptions: Recent Accessions." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 20(11): pp. 269-70, fig. 3.

    Borelli, Frederica and Maria Cristina Targia. 2004. The Etruscans: Art, Architecture, and History, eds. Stefano Peccatori and Stefano Zuffi, trans. Thomas Michael Hartmann. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, p. 33.

    Picón, Carlos A., et al. 2007. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 318, pp. 275, 469.

  • See also
    What
    Where
    When
    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
    MetPublications
130011970:2

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