Antique Amphora-style copper vessel.

Size: 8 x 8 x 7 3/4 in. 

#2392. 

An Amphora is a jar with two vertical handles used in antiquity for the storage and transportation of foodstuffs such as wine and olive oil. The name derives from the Greek “amphi-phoreus” which means “carried on both sides,” although the Greeks had adopted the design from early civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean. Evolving from the large Bronze Age pithoi vessels, which the Minoans and Mycenaeans used for storage purposes, the amphora became perhaps the most common ancient pottery shape. However, the size and form had a great many variations. Amphorae could also be plain, typically when used for the transport of goods, or highly decorated, just as any other red-figure or black-figure pottery. All amphorae were made in stages on the wheel with a period of drying between the addition of a new section. The potter’s wheel itself was likely invented in Mesopotamia by at least the 4th Millennium BC, eventually spreading across nearly all of Eurasia and much of Africa, though it appears it remained unknown in the New World until the arrival of Europeans. The two basic types of amphora were the neck-amphora, which has the shoulder joining the neck at a sharp angle, and the belly amphora (or simply amphora) which curves continuously from neck to foot. Those vessels with broad mouths were known as either kadoi or stamnoi while the plain types for transport were referred to as amphoreus. Gradually the form of the vessel evolved to reflect its primary function as a carrier of wine and for ease of packing. Although the shape has undergone countless changes over the centuries, the biggest advancements have come due to improvements in the methods of forming them, eventually leading to machine-oriented mass production of many vessels from the 19th Century onward.

Given the condition of this piece, as well as the curved style of the handles and the manner in which they were attached, it is likely from the late 19th/early 20th Century and made of copper.

Commersurate with age.