Storage Jar (Amphora)

Artist The Rycroft Painter (Greek, active about 520–500 BCE)

Dateabout 515–500 BCE

Mediumblack-figure painted pottery

Dimensions62.2 x 39.7 cm (24 1/2 x 15 5/8 in.)

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineLent by the Republic of Italy

Terms

ceramic

Object numberE.53.24.1

DescriptionFrom vicinity of Athens; Leto Mounting a Chariot with Apollo, Artemis and Hermes. Dionysos with Maenads and Satyrs. Black figured style.
Label TextOne side of this beautifully preserved black-figure vase depicts Hermes, the Greek messenger god, leading a four-horse chariot driven by the goddess Leto. Her divine twins, Apollo and Artemis, accompany on foot. The vase-painter, whom art historians have dubbed the Rycroft Painter, was particularly fond of chariot scenes, which showed off his skill at equine anatomy. Another of his favorite subjects was Dionysos, god of wine, who appears on the vase's other side flanked by female revelers (maenads) and lustful satyrs.ProvenanceThis amphora was formerly part of the Worcester Art Museum’s permanent collection (accession no. 1956.83). The Museum purchased it in 1956 in Switzerland from Elie Borowski [1913-2003], an art historian, collector, and dealer. At the same time, the Museum acquired a black-figure kylix from Borowski as a gift (E.53.24.2, formerly accession no. 1956.91). In 2024, provenance research undertaken at the Museum traced both vases back to the American dealer Robert Hecht [1919-2012]. Hecht is now known to have dealt extensively in looted antiquities from Italy during the 1950s through 1970s. Based on this information, the Worcester Art Museum brought both objects to the attention of Italian authorities, who confirmed their illicit origins. As a result, in December 2024, the Museum agreed to a voluntary restitution of the vases to Italy and deaccessioned them from its collection. The return was made as part of a new Cultural Cooperation Agreement between the Museum and the Italian Ministry of culture—the first of its kind for the Worcester Art Museum. The agreement allows the Museum to keep the vases on display as loans before returning them to Italy in exchange for long-term loans of comparable objects from Italian museums.

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