Attica, Greece

The Greek Black-Figure Attic Amphora was created circa 500 BCE in Attica, Greece. Attica was the historical region of Greece that encompassed the Peloponnese, which included the Aegean Sea and Athens. My research has indicated by the authenticator, Dietrich von Bothmer, that the amphora belongs to the Three-line Group Vase-Painters who originated in the late 6th century of Attic Greece.

Dietrich von Bothmer was the former antiquities curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at the request of Roberta Olson, the Assistant Professor of Art History, he inspected photographs of the amphora to authenticate it. In his letter to Olson, von Bothmer notes that the amphora "is in very good condition and as it has its origianl lid is quite complete." Von Bothmer, however, questioned the authenticity of the foot, commenting that "it is a little unusual, though not impossible." It has recently been discovered that von Bothmer would donate his own personal vase fragments to complete other vases. A problematic situation was created, as a majority of von Bothmer's fragments were products of illicit excavation. This leaves the implication that von Bothmer saw the Greek Black-Figure Attic Amphora as potentially having been reassembled using fragment(s) from a different amphora. Also, for reasons unknown, von Bothmer asked to have photos of the amphora after Wheaton's purchase.

Further study has revealed that John Beazley, von Bothmer's mentor, details that Three-Line Group's neck-amphorae resemble the Lysippides Painter's work. Often confused for the Lysippides Painter's work, the scarcity of the Three-Line Group amphorae makes the Greek Blak-Figure Attic Amphora valuable, especially because it is in extremely good condition and has its lid.

Text Sources:

Beazley, J.D.. Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956.

Felch, Jason. "The Met's Von Bothmer Collection May Be Evidence In Princeton Criminal Case." Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities in the World's Museums, Jan 26, 2012,  http://chasingaphrodite.com/2012/01/26/the-mets-von-bothmer-collection-may-be-evidence-in-princeton-criminal-case/ (Accessed March 17, 2014).

von Bothmer, Dietrich. Dietrich von Bothmer to Roberta Olson, Norton, MA, February 25, 1981.

Image Source:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akropolis_by_Leo_von_Klenze.jpg, Accessed March 07, 2014.