Cleveland Museum Of Art

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A clay jar created over 2,500 years ago in Italy has recently found fame thanks to the internet.

The "Vessel in the Shape of a Wild Boar, 600-500 BC" is the Cleveland Museum of Art's latest viral sensation, spawning online memes and fan pages.

The boar vessel is a small clay jar, nearly seven inches long, in the shape of a boar with the jar opening on the boar's back. It's located in the gallery 102D.

"Wild boars were a favorite motif in classical antiquity," says the boar vessel's description on CMA's website. "This early example shows the tusked boar at his fiercest, standing alert and ready to charge."

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What is so funny about this random, small piece of art? Well, the Boar Vessel memes make fun of everything from dating to '90s kids. There are also hilarious photoshop creations that combine the boar vessel with famous artwork.

To get a quick taste of the Boar Vessel meme, you can visit its Reddit page, /r/boarvesselmemes, which has over 1,400 subscribers and a string of submissions.

The history of the meme, according to KnowYourMeme.com, extends back to 2012 when a user uploaded the image to Wikimedia. Then, four years later, the image was used in a humorous dating meme posted to Reddit in 2016.

That first meme had an image of the boar vessel, and included a chain of dialogue:

"me: hey girl whats up

her: i only date Boar Vessel, 600-500 BC, Etruscan Ceramic"

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Now, two years later, the boar vessel has resurged as a popular image on all forms of social media -- and it's also gained popularity at CMA.

Fans of the boar vessel have been planning visits to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and posting about it on Twitter.

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@pewdiepie I discovered that Boar Vessel, Etruscan, 600-500 BC is in the Cleveland Museum of Art. I live minutes from Boar Vessel. Going there later to gain its power. — Karsten Treu (@KarstenTreu) June 22, 2018

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also don't let ur memes be dreams, bc i saw "boar vessel, 500-600 bc, etruscan, ceramic" in person pic.twitter.com/yTSys7swW7 — Sophia Saliby (@Sophia_Saliby) August 9, 2018

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I’m gonna steal the boar vessel next time I go to cleveland — nina danielle ✨ (@madonnafelice) June 19, 2018

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The Cleveland Museum of Art has been in on the joke this summer, too. The museum's social media accounts have referenced the meme in several posts.

"We noticed the boar vessel meme taking off on social media and wanted to both acknowledge it and invite people to see the object in person," said Chris Moore, CMA's digital communications manager. "The permanent collection is free of charge for all, so anytime there's interest in a piece, we want to encourage people to stop by for a visit. We've enjoyed seeing the attention this object has received and love seeing the photos of visitors posing with it."

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Joey checked it out - have you? 🐗 Boar Vessel, 600-500 BC Etruscan On view now in gallery 102D. http://bit.ly/2Mc5RyP Posted by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, June 22, 2018

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The boar vessel meme is probably a fleeting moment in the fast-paced internet meme world, but its fame will remain in the Cleveland Museum of Art forever.

For now, check out some of the funniest boar vessel memes below.

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Born before 600-500BC? Then you might be eligible for revolutionary new boar vessel Etruscan ceramic pic.twitter.com/uyX90KY0qO — Festan, level 60 Mecha-chad (@MediumSteffo) August 6, 2018

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characters that should get their own standalone movies:



frozone



obi-wan kenobi



black widow



boar vessel 600-500 bc etrsucan ceramic pic.twitter.com/hzTFVyzR8R — gæb (@dino_kiddo) June 21, 2018

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Dear parents,

just because your kid is smiling at their phone doesn't mean they have a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Maybe they're just looking at Boar Vessel 600-500 BC Estruscan Ceramic pic.twitter.com/zfedz4CErZ — Vasco Lavos 🔜 Minecon Live (@Vazkii) June 20, 2018

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my boar vessel brings all the boys to the yard



and they're like, 600-500 BC, Etruscan ceramic pic.twitter.com/yeXnt72SNc — James Alexander Cameron (@DrJACameron) June 18, 2018

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Me: Hey girls whats up

Her: Sorry I only date Boar Vessel 600-500 BC Etruscan Ceramic

Me: pic.twitter.com/9AY0ez114C — 𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐞® (@rupefm) August 16, 2016

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if the cleveland art museum created that meme just to get me to go see Boar Vessel 600-500 BC Etruscan Ceramic it worked — Really Moldy Kitchen Nightmares (@meteoropic) May 4, 2018