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Terracotta pelike (wine jar)

Attributed to the Amazon Painter
2nd half of the 4th century BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159
Obverse, Greeks fighting Amazons
Reverse, maenad between two satyrs

In many Attic vases of the fourth century B.C., the figural decoration and the surface of the vase are no longer in the perfect harmony that earlier vase-painters were able to achieve. The bodies seem almost three-dimensional, and the composition is confused apparently in an attempt to imitate large contemporary panel and wall paintings. The addition of much white, yellow, and gilding is typical of what is traditionally known as the "Kerch style" because many such vases have been found in princely tombs in the area of Kerch in the Crimea on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta pelike (wine jar)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Amazon Painter
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: 2nd half of the 4th century BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 17 in. (43.2 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1906
  • Object Number: 06.1021.195
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Bell, Leaded bronze, Greek
Bell
Greek
3rd or 4th century BCE (?)
Terracotta pelike (jar), Dechter Painter, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Terracotta pelike (jar)
Attributed to the Dechter Painter
ca. 360–340 BCE
Terracotta lekythos (oil flask), Eretria Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
Attributed to the Eretria Painter
ca. 420 BCE
Cauldron attachment: bull's head, Bronze
Cauldron attachment: bull's head
ca. 7th century BCE
Terracotta pelike (jar), Terracotta, Greek, Corinthian
Terracotta pelike (jar)
Greek, Corinthian
late 5th century BCE

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