Cypriot Terracotta Group Scene of Punishment in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Title: Terracotta group: scene of punishment

Medium; Technique: Terracotta; hand-made

Culture: Cypriot

Period: Cypro-Archaic II

Date: 6th century B.C.

Dimensions: H. 3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm)

Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76

Accession Number: 74.51.1440

On View


Description:

Six figures are represented in a narrative situation; five should probably be thought of as seated. The main personage in the center holds a staff in his right hand and wears a conical headdress. A figure to his right holds a small animal, while one to his left has a shield and scabbard. In front of the cluster of onlookers there is someone lying face down and being beaten with a stick by another person. The subject has prompted considerable discussion and been interpreted as a scene of punishment, partly by analogy with the detail on the Shield of Achilles described by Homer.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...