Terracotta pelike (wine jar)
Obverse, two men playing board game
Reverse, flute player between two athletes
Introduced by red-figure artists, the pelike was adopted as well by their black-figure counterparts. The subject here is a further modification of the theme of Ajax and Achilles gaming (compare hydria 56.171.29). Two men sit at a three-legged table playing a board game, as indicated by their gestures. A flute case and a lyre hanging on the wall above them suggest that the men are professional musicians taking a break. The implied comparison with the Homeric heroes is amusing.
Reverse, flute player between two athletes
Introduced by red-figure artists, the pelike was adopted as well by their black-figure counterparts. The subject here is a further modification of the theme of Ajax and Achilles gaming (compare hydria 56.171.29). Two men sit at a three-legged table playing a board game, as indicated by their gestures. A flute case and a lyre hanging on the wall above them suggest that the men are professional musicians taking a break. The implied comparison with the Homeric heroes is amusing.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta pelike (wine jar)
- Artist: Attributed to the Plousios Painter
- Period: Archaic
- Date: ca. 520 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
- Dimensions: H. 12 1/16 in. (30.7 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Gift of Walter Bareiss, 1968
- Object Number: 68.27
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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On loan to The Met
Plousios Painter
ca. 520 BCE
On loan to The Met
Plousios Painter
ca. 510 BCE
Greek, South Italian, Campanian
4th century BCE
Greek, Attic
late 10th–early 9th century BCE
Greek, Attic
mid-4th century BCE
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