Bucchero ware, recognized as the signature ceramic pottery of the Etruscans, was especially popular between the seventh and fifth centuries BC and was widespread in pre-Roman Etruria (present-day Tuscany in central Italy). Its distinctive black color results from its manufacturing process: the color was achieved with a technique known as reduction firing, in which the vessel was fired in an oxygen-starved atmosphere, likely a kiln with closed vents. The pottery was polished by rubbing before being fired, creating a glossy surface, and sometimes incised with decoration, as seen on this amphora. This distinctive amphora dates to between ca. 625 and 550 BC. During this time, prestige goods being traded between the eastern Mediterranean region and Greece influenced Etruscan art. The delightful animal frieze, for example, resembles similar ornamentation featuring real and imagined fabulous animals on ancient Near Eastern pottery and metalwork and was especially popular in Greek art during the Archaic period (700–480 BC). The frieze includes a bearded sphinx, a deer with a fish below, a griffin, a goat, a bull, and another quadruped. The neck of the amphora is incised with palmettes between the four strap handles, which are decorated with geometric designs. The prosperous aristocratic class that emerged from these burgeoning trade routes revealed its cosmopolitanism and love of luxury in their elaborate subterranean chamber tombs filled with expensive and exotic goods. Most bucchero vessels were reserved for domestic use as tableware—for dining, drinking, or storage. Some were also manufactured for funerary purposes. This outstanding example, rare for its size, shape, and incised designs, may have been included in a tomb.