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Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)

Attributed to an artist near Exekias
ca. 530 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155
Obverse, Apollo between Hermes and goddess
Reverse, Memnon between his Ethiopian squires

In the Trojan War, Memnon, the son of Tithonos and Eos, the goddess of the dawn, led a contingent of Ethiopians allied with the Trojans. He was killed by Achilles in a duel watched by their mothers. The present condition of the vase provides insight into the painter's working method. Memnon's shield was drawn with a compass—the circles are evident—and it would have been painted in added white directly onto the clay. Without the white, we can see the cursory sketch that the artist drew for the figure's torso.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)
  • Artist: Attributed to an artist near Exekias
  • Period: Archaic
  • Date: ca. 530 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
  • Dimensions: 16 1/4 × 11 1/2 in. (41.3 × 29.2 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Gift of F. W. Rhinelander, 1898
  • Object Number: 98.8.13
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

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Calyx-krater, fragments, Exekias, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Calyx-krater, fragments
Exekias
ca. 540 BCE
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with lid and knob (27.16), Exekias, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with lid and knob (27.16)
Exekias
ca. 540 BCE
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Princeton Group, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)
Princeton Group
ca. 540–530 BCE
Terracotta neck-amphora (storage jar), New York Nessos Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta neck-amphora (storage jar)
New York Nessos Painter
second quarter of the 7th century BCE
Terracotta amphora (jar), Andokides as potter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta amphora (jar)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 530 BCE

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