Terracotta amphora (jar)

Attributed to the Swing Painter
ca. 540–530 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 154
Obverse and reverse, warrior departing in quadriga (4-horse chariot)

A soldier bidding farewell to his parents was a popular subject in vase-paintings. Here he has mounted a chariot drawn by four horses; and his charioteer, dressed in a long white and red chiton, prepares to drive him to the battlefield. The great warriors of Homer's Iliad were conducted to and from combat in this way.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta amphora (jar)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Swing Painter
  • Period: Archaic
  • Date: ca. 540–530 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 20 1/4 in. (51.5 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.230.8
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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