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Terracotta oinochoe (jug) in the form of a Black African's head

ca. 480 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 157
Vases in the form of a Black African's head were popular during the first half of the fifth century BCE. Black Africans were familiar to Greeks from the time of Homer. In his Iliad, for instance, Memnon, the son of Eos (the goddess of dawn), was king of the Ethiopians and a prominent ally of the Trojans. In such vases, the features conveyed exoticism and permitted the juxtaposition of lustrous black glaze with textured hair.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta oinochoe (jug) in the form of a Black African's head
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 480 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 6 1/16 in. (15.4 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Purchase, 1900
  • Object Number: 00.11.1
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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