Terracotta Amphora Attributed to a Painter in Group E in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2011

Terracotta amphora (jar)

Attributed to a painter of Group E

Period: Archaic Date: ca. 550 B.C.

Culture: Greek, Attic

Medium: Terracotta

Dimensions: H. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm) diameter 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)

Classification: Vases

Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1956

Accession Number: 56.171.13


Description:

In addition to its elegant simplicity, this amphora has several features of great importance. The figure on the reverse is probably an athlete who is carrying off his prize, a bronze tripod. Greek literature provides numerous references to tripods as prizes and dedications. A representation such as this shows their scale and how such objects were carried. The inscription on the obverse permits different interpretations. An obol was a unit of weight and a coin.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/1300...