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Writer's pictureBrenna Reistad

Pottery

Updated: Apr 29

Black-Figured Amphora and Lid

with the apotheosis of Herakles

Attributed to, Antimenes Painter, or his manner

Greek (Attic)

ca. 520-510 BC

Terracotta

L2018.1 a-b



Black-figure Eye-Cup (Primary Title)

ca. 520 BC

Greek (Attic)

terracotta

62.1.11


The center (tondo) of this cup holds a mesmerizing image of the snake-haired gorgon Medusa, the mere sight of whom turned mortals to stone. In ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion was used on buildings, shields, and other objects to ward off evil; the eyes on the exterior of this cup may have had a similar function. Nikosthenes signed more than one hundred vases, always identifying himself as the potter.



Red-Figured Cup

Attributed to, Euaion Painter (Artist)

Greek (Attic)

ca. 450 BC

Terracotta

62.1.4


On the interior (tondo), a woman pours wine from a pitcher into a cup held by a seated man. The objects—a strigil and aryballos—hanging above the man identify him as an athlete and, together with his chair, locate the scene in the interior of a building.



Red-Figure Sessile Kantharos (Drinking Cup) (Bottom)

Gnathian Cup (Top)

Greek, South Italian (Apulia)

4th century BC

Terracotta

81.84


The sessile kanthoros is a drinking vessel with two low handles rather than the high looped handles of the kantharoi used by Dionysos. South Italian drinking vessels decorated like this were modeled on Attic vases from the 5th century BC with similar decoration.


Gnathian Cup 

Greek, South Italian (Gnathia)

4th century B.C.. 325-300 BC

Terracotta

81.17


According to Athenaeus, author of The Learned Banqueters (Deipnosophistae) in the middle of the 3rd century AD, the successive bowls of wine at a symposium were named after different gods. He mentions a cup inscribed “Of Zeus Savior,” which is similar to the one shown here.



Black-figured Cup

Attributed to the, Virginia Painter

Greek (Attic)

ca. 510 BC

Terracotta

62.1.9


This is the “name piece” of the Virginia Painter, meaning that it exemplifies the work of this artist whose real name is unknown. The rider wears a traveler’s cloak and is accompanied by his faithful hound. The random marks around the horse and rider, known as a “nonsense inscription,” imitate writing but have no meaning.



Knob-Handled Patera (Bowl) 

Attributed to the, White Saccos-Chariot Group Painter

South Italian (Apulia)

ca. 320 BC

Terracotta

81.89



Red-Figure Kalyx-Krater (Mixing Bowl) 

Attributed to, Nikias Painter

Greek (Attic)

ca. 400 BC

Terracotta

81.70


According to myth, Hephaestos, god of the forge and fire, attempted to rape Athena, a virgin goddess. Afterwards, Athena cleaned herself with wool, which she dropped to the ground; Ge (or Gaia, the earth goddess), then became pregnant and bore Erichthonios. This vase shows Ge handing Erichthonios to Athena while other gods look on. Erichthonios is also the name of an early king of Athens who was later worshipped as a god in a sanctuary on the Acropolis known as the Erichtheum.



Red-figured Neck-Amphora (Storage Vessel)

Attributed to, H.A. Painter

Greek (South Italian, Apulian)

Terracotta

76.37


The youth holding armor and the building in which he sits are painted in white, suggesting a marble tomb for a fallen warrior. Produced as a grave offering, this vessel has a hole in the bottom, perhaps to render it useless to would-be grave robbers.



Goblet with Octopus Decoration 

Mycenaean

13th century BC

Terracotta

60.26


The Mycenaeans, like the Minoans, painted a wide range of sea creatures on their pottery, especially octopuses. Over time Mycenaean artists produced ever simpler and more abstract depictions of octopuses.



Black-Figure Lekythos (Storage Vessel) (Primary Title)

ca. 510–500 BC

Greek (Attic)

terracotta

60.21


“But Zeus’s daughter Athena spurred the Argives on-Athena first in glory, third-born of the gods-whenever she saw some slacker hanging back.”

– Homer, Iliad


The goddess Athena accompanies three heavily armed soldiers (hoplites) as they charge into battle while a white-robed charioteer guides the chariot.



Black-Figure Neck-Amphora (Storage Vessel) (Primary Title)

ca. 510 BC

Greek (Attic)

terracotta




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