Etrusco-Corinthian amphora

This neck-amphora (partly restored) belongs to a group that is usually considered as a production from the Etruscan city of Cerveteri. The style is called Etrusco-Corinthian, because it imitates and adapts the black-figure pottery technique, imagery and shape-repertoire from the Greek city of Corinth. The vase features an impressive scale pattern that covers most of the vessel’s body. The compass-drawn scales are painted red in alternate vertical rows. Framed by two guilloche bands, a shoulder register depicts real animals such as ibexes, panthers, and horses along with fantastic creatures like centaurs and griffins. The two centaurs are among the earliest in Etruscan art. Their long dress, covering the usually naked body, are interpreted as a sign of pudor that is more Etruscan than Greek, and can be seen as an attempt to emphasize the human quality of these hybrid creatures.