Jug with Birds in the Walters Art Museum, September 2009

Jug with Birds


Creator: Roman (Artist)

Period: 1st century BC-AD 1st century (Augustan)

Medium: terracotta (Ceramics)

Accession Number: 48.104

Measurements: 8 7/16 x 4 7/8 in. (21.4 x 12.4 cm)

Geographies: Samsun (in present-day Turkey) (Place of Origin)

The form and the single handle suggest that this jug was used for pouring wine. It is decorated in the "barbotine" technique, where a liquid clay or slip is applied in relief through a tube, much like icing is applied to a cake. Here, two stork-like birds are facing a large plant in the middle, framed by a garland of ivy leaves around the neck of the jug. Such idyllic scenes with animals and plants are typical of ceramic and metal vessels made during the time of Emperor Augustus.

Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/26930/jug-with-birds/