ATTRIBUTED TO THE MICALI PAINTER, CIRCA 510-500 B.C.

Flourishing between 525-480 B.C., the Micali Painter was the most prolific of all Etruscan black-figure vase painters. His style was lively and flamboyant, with naïve proportions, as can be seen here. His name comes from the archaeologist Giuseppe Micali (1769-1844), who was the first to publish a group of the painter's vases in 1832. His workshop was most likely at Vulci, since a large number of his vases have been found there. This amphora is unique, in that side A is decorated with two nude females, facing one another whilst grasping each other's arms, and with legs crossed, perhaps either dancing or wrestling. Side B depicts a young man dressed in a loin cloth. The position of his arms and hands indicates that he is probably dancing. His long hair is arranged in the Attic fashion called crobylos, with the tail drawn to the back and fixed at the nape by a band of white colour.