- Museum number
- 1866,0805.3
- Description
-
Pottery: black-figured neck-amphora. Style rather rough. On the neck, each side, two large eyes, the pupil black surrounded with purple, the rest white with black outlines. On the shoulder, tongue-pattern. On the body of the vase are two designs in black on a red ground, with accessories of white and purple.
(a) Combat of Heracles and Amazons (Amazonomachy): In the centre Heracles to right, with short purple chiton and lion's skin over head and tied at the neck, is stooping forward and about to plunge his sword into an Amazon (Andromache), whom he has beaten down on one knee, and whose helmet he grasps with left hand. She has a lofty visored helmet, with patterns in purple, black, and white, short purple chiton, spear, and shield with a leaf resembling that of the horse-chestnut, as device. Behind Heracles is Iolaos to left hurling his spear, but there is no assailant for him; he has long hair, a visored helmet, short chiton, greaves, and shield with the device of a lion walking and looking back to right, with left paw raised, painted in purple, and with a broad astragalus-border in white. On the right is Telamon, bearded, with helmet, greaves, and shield, thrusting with his spear at an Amazon who is beaten down on one knee, and is of a smaller scale, to fit in under the handle of the vase; she has long hair, a visored helmet, shield with plain purple face, short purple chiton, and greaves. In the field, beside the handle, is a lotus-bud.
(b) Blinding of Polyphemos: Odysseus and two companions advance to right, bearded, with swords and short chitons (two of them purple, the middle one black) holding aloft the pine-tree which they thrust into the eye of Polyphemos; Odysseus' left foot is raised against his chest. The Cyclops is seated to left on the ground, and grasps with right hand the end of the pole, to drag it out of his eye; he is nude and bearded, with long hair and fillet, his body partly stippled to indicate hair, especially on the breast and legs; he is of large proportions. Behind him the side of the cave is indicated in black.
- Production date
- 520BC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 30.48 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- BM Cat. Vases
Mon. dell’ Inst. x. 53, 2; Ann. dell’ Inst. 1878, p. 227; Harrison, Myths of Odyssey, pl, 10a; Schneider, Tro. Sagenkr., p. 53; Corey, Amaz. Ant. Fig. p. 3; Roscher, p. 2202; Bolte, de Monum. ad Odyss. pert., p. 8.
For the whole vase, cf. the Aristonothos vase, Mon. dell’ Inst. ix. 4, Berlin No. 2123, and an amphora of Ionic fabric in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. In style this vase resembles one published in Mon. dell’ Inst. i. 51, with Chalcidian inscriptions; it is, however, probably of Attic fabric.
- Location
- On display (G73/dc63/shB)
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2008 17 Mar-17 Aug, Basel, 'Homer: The Myth of Troy in Poetry and Art'
2019-2020 21 Nov-8 Mar, London, BM, SEG, Troy
- Acquisition date
- 1866
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1866,0805.3
