neck-amphora
- Museum number
- 1867,0508.1112
- Description
-
Pottery: red-figured neck-amphora.
(a) Sacrifice to a goddess (?). On left is a goddess (sleeved chiton, himation, and hair looped up and tied thrice round with a fillet) leaning right on long sceptre or wand with striated shaft. On right a youth closely draped in himation, who pours wine from an oinochoe on a thymiaterion which stands between them. The youth wears a fillet decorated with crosses, and his hair falls long in front of his ear; he looks at the goddess. The incense-burner has cover and tripod stand. Beside each figure an imitation inscription.
(b) Ephebos (long hair looped up with fillet, whiskers, mantle) stands to left, resting right on staff.
Figures disproportionately tall; drawing of fine period, but becoming careless, with some remains of archaic style in treatment of hair. Purple fillets, wine, and inscriptions; light brown ends of hair and whiskers. Eye in transition. Patterns as preceding.
- Production date
- 450BC-430BC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 27.94 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- BM Cat. Vases
Él. Cér. i, pl. 87, p. 291; Von Fritze, Die Ranchopfer bei den Gr. p. 40.
De Witte calls the figure on a Athene Ergane, but the ‘spear’ seems more like a sceptre with its striated shaft. This form of sceptre or wand, with a head like a blunt arrow-head, occurs chiefly on sacrificial scenes of this period; cf. BM Vase Ε446; Ashmolean Vase Cat. pll. 16-17; De Witte, Coll. de l’Hôtel Lambert (Czartoryski), pl. 18. Possibly it may have had some religious significance; in the Ashmolean vase it is carried by a figure with polos and ears of corn (Demeter ?).
- Location
- On display (G20a/dc48)
- Acquisition date
- 1867
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1867,0508.1112