Amphora

The handles of this otherwise undecorated amphora (storage jar) are adorned with two satyr masks in profile—one facing left, the other right. An applique in the shape of a frontal female head – perhaps a maenad – decorates the base of each handle, framed by volutes above and a palmette below. These figures represent companions of the wine god Bacchus.An amphora of this type could have been used to hold wine at a banquet. Comparable examples have been found in the homes of wealthy Romans, such as those who owned luxurious residences on the Bay of Naples.