Vases Olpe
Olpe

Olpe

Bearded Sphinx Painter · 630–600 B.C.
A standard olpe is decorated with two continuous animal friezes around the shoulder and belly. In the upper register is a pair of grazing goats heraldically disposed, and a goose moving to the left. Below, a third grazing goat is flanked by two panthers with frontal heads; a goose appears between the panthers' tails. There are numerous dot-rosettes in the field.

Over sixty such olpai have been attributed to the Bearded Sphinx Painter, whose early work was apparently made in a workshop at Vulci. It is characterized by the use of dot-rosettes in the animal friezes. Later in his career, this major Etrusco-Corinthian artist appears to have been active at Cerveteri.
Date
630–600 B.C.
Culture
Etruscan
Dimensions
H: 27.30 cm D: 10.50 cm
Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
Accession Number
86.AE.393
Image Source
getty_cc0
Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)