Terracotta amphora (jar)
Recalls the Rycroft Painter
Obverse, chariot setting out
Reverse, frontal chariot
Chariot scenes are popular on black-figure vases of the late sixth century B.C. The ample surfaces provided by the newly invented amphora type A, characterized by the flanged handles and foot in two degrees, accommodated the dense compositions. As this work excellently demonstrates, artists were interested in displaying their skill, depicting the chariot in both side and front views. The scene on the obverse differs from that of the departure of Herakles for Mount Olympos only in the nature of the participants. The figures here are Greek hoplites. In the apotheosis of Herakles, the figures are gods, as indicated by their attributes.
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