Terracotta amphora (jar)

Amasis Painter

ca. 550 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Obverse and reverse, warrior putting on armor Although both sides of this amphora show the same subject, the Amasis Painter has introduced subtle variations in the sequence of action and in detail. On one side, a warrior holds a greave (shin guard); on the other side, he adjusts it on his leg. A nude youth with a spear and a wreath is replaced in the opposite scene by a woman with a spear and an aryballos (oil flask). This is an interesting conflation of two important themes because both the wreath and the oil flask are usually associated with athletes, not warriors. The male figures have the same long hair and proud stance as contemporary marble statues and reliefs of kouroi (youths) and embody the same ideal of young manhood.

Artist

Amasis Painter

Date

ca. 550 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906