In addition to the art historical significance of the vase, the fate of the amphora and its individual sherds since its discovery is also of archaeological-historical significance. The vase was found in the
Etruscan necropolis of
Ponte dell' Abbadia near
Vulci. In Athens, vases were produced largely for export to
Etruria, where they were often used as grave goods. Thus, several works of Exekias have been found in Etruscan cemeteries. When the amphora was discovered in one of the Etruscan graves at Vulci which had been under excavation from 1828, it was already broken and was probably no longer complete. The sherds that were discovered were not very carefully collected. The reconstruction of the vase from its sherds was, by modern standards, faulty. As was common in the mid-nineteenth century, missing pieces were replaced and repainted to create the appearance of a complete work. After the restoration, the amphora came into the possession of the painter
Eduard Magnus. The sale of smaller archaeological discoveries was common at the time, particularly when no other, more expensive and higher valued artworks (statuary or precious metals) could be found. Together with the painter's other pieces (known as the
Dorow-Magnus Collection), the amphora soon entered the newly founded
Museum at Lustgarten, in 1831. It stayed, with other items of
portable art, in the
semi-basement of the museum. According to
Jakob Andreas Konrad Levezow's 1834 exhibition catalogue, the vase stood on one of the glass tables placed in a prominent position. When the portable art collection was transferred to the
Neue Galerie New York, Exekias' Amphora was taken there as well. In the 1920s, the amphoras had to be restored for reasons which are no longer known. In the process, the retouching and additions from the original restoration were largely removed. The additions were now made clearly distinct from the original sherds. Due to the war, the amphora was inventoried as "Berlin F 1720" and stored in box 167 in the Zoobunker. In 1945, the box was taken to the
Soviet Union as
booty. As part of the return of art to the
DDR, the amphora was brought back to the Antikensammlung Berlin (unlike many other pieces from box 167) in 1958, which was now divided between
East and
West Berlin. The Exekian Neck Amphora was one of the few vases which came into the possession of the East Berlin
Pergamonmuseum, since the majority of the vases had been kept in the magazin before the war and were hence stored in a different location during the war and ended up in the West Berlin Antikensammlung in
Charlottenburg afterwards. The amphora was on display as part of the regular exhibition of the museum. In the 1970s, the archaeologist
Erika Kunze-Götte found a two-piece fragment during work on a volume of the
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum in
Munich which she suggested belonged to the Exekias neck amphora. As a result, a lively correspondence sprung up between Munich and East Berlin. Photos and line drawings were exchanged and measurements were produced. A silicon cast finally confirmed that the pieces belonged. Probably the individual sherds were excavated later than the rest of the amphora or mistakenly not connected with it. There was a question of whether the museums ought to carry out an exchange or make a loan agreement, eventually settled in favour of the former option. In exchange for the sherds, the
Staatliche Antikensammlung in Munich was to receive an ornamental-black figure/polychrome painted lid from the Pergamonmuseum. Although this was quickly agreed on an academic level, it took a significant time to formalise the agreement, since the DDR officials delayed things for seven years. On 7 January 1988, it finally came to Munich in exchange for the sherds. After the pieces were reunited, the vase had to be restored again in 1990. Firstly they attempted to remove the modern additions and to insert the new fragment. In the process it was discovered that the earlier restoration had miscalculated the size of the gaps – they were too small. As a result, the vase had to be disassembled. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For instance, during the process, Priska Schilling uncovered the letter "ο" in the caption reading (Ι)ΟΛΑΟΣ under a modern layer of paint. Where a handle had been reconstructed, the original handle attachment was discovered underneath. Several incised inscriptions were found on the interior sides of sherds, such as Ο ΠΑΙΣ ΚΑΛΟΣ, "The boy is gorgeous" and ΚΑΛΟΣ, "He is gorgeous." It is suggested that this was a hoax by an earlier restorer, possibly
Domenico Campanari in the first half of the nineteenth century. The restoration was completed in 1991. Today the amphora is on display in the
Altes Museum in the
Lustgarten, along with the
Tombstones of Exekias and an amphora from the outer circle of
Group E, which was probably made in Exekias' workshop. This contemporary amphora also depicts Herakles fighting with the Nemean lion. == Bibliography ==