Large marble vase decorated with a relief of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, from Vasi candelabri, cippi, sarcofagi, tripodi, lucerne, ed ornamenti antichi disegnati ed incisi dal Cav. Gio. Batt. Piranesi, Vol. II (Vases, candelabra, grave stones, sarcophagi, tripods, lamps, and ornaments designed and etched by Cavalieri Giovanni Battista Piranesi) 1778 - 1780

This is an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, part of his series on ancient vases, candelabras, and ornaments, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The print captures a large marble vase adorned with a relief depicting the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The visual experience is dominated by the vase's symmetrical structure, its ornate carvings rendered in stark lines against the flat plane of the page. The texture is suggested through dense cross-hatching, creating tonal variation. Piranesi’s choice to focus on form invites us to consider the role of classical art as a carrier of cultural and philosophical ideas. The scene of Iphigenia's sacrifice, a moment of intense drama, is here reduced to a play of lines and forms. This echoes a broader intellectual interest in the semiotics of classical art, where each figure and gesture operates as a sign within a larger narrative. Notice how the vase, as an object, becomes a site for the inscription and transmission of meaning. Piranesi is not merely documenting an ancient artifact, he is engaging with its visual language, prompting us to decode its cultural significance through the careful arrangement of line, light, and form.