Minneapolis Inst. 57.1
Attic Black-Figure Neck-Amphora
The Painter of Vatican 359
ca. 530 B.C.
Lent by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Museum Purchase (57.1).
The Vase: H. 39.5 cm; W. 30 cm; D.
of mouth 18.8 cm; D. of foot 16.5 cm. Complete and in excellent condition except
for glaze abrasion on body of A (goddess and on horses' legs) and reddening of
black glaze on various spots all over the vase. Echinus mouth reserved on top;
ring at junction of neck and shoulder; triple handles reserved on underside;
fillet between foot and body; foot in two degrees composed of a low fillet above
a torus. On the neck, both sides, lotus-palmette-chain. Tongue-pattern on
shoulder at the junction of the neck. Below each handle, a configuration of four
palmettes and three lotuses, three dots at center handle B/A and two dots on
A/B. Below the figures, meander to left, then a frieze of upright lotus buds
with dots in the interstices, and directly above the foot, a zone of rays.
Decoration:
Side A: shoulder: a fight, between nude
horsemen, between onlookers. On the left stands a woman (I) dressed in a peplos
and in front of her a nude youth (2), both right. They are followed by a
horseman (3), also to right. Next are the two combatants (4 and 5), each dressed
in a short chiton and holding out a round shield (device on 5: balls). A
scabbard is suspended from a baldric over the right shoulder of each, and right
arm is raised, as if to hurl a spear, but the artist forgot to include it. On
the right of the warriors is the second horseman (6), to left, and in back of
him, two more onlookers, a male (7) with a cloak over both shoulders and boots
and hat, and a woman (8) dressed as her counterpart on the left.
Body: Poseidon and Amphitrite in a chariot to right. The
two deities stand in the chariot, Amphitrite on the right-hand side holding the
reins in both hands, Poseidon on the left holding his trident in his right hand
and reaching down with his left to grasp the top of the breastwork of the
chariot to steady himself when the vehicle starts to move. Each deity wears a
long chiton with a himation over it. Round the head of Amphitrite is a wreath,
round Poseidon's a fillet. A team of four draws the chariot, the two trace
horses being slightly ahead of the two pole horses, which supply the main
pulling power. This composition is the standard convention for the
representation of four chariot horses in profile, but in reality, the four were
probably abreast (see below). The right-hand trace horse is branded on the croup
with a dot-rosette. On the left-hand side of the team are two deities, an
unidentified goddess at right, gesturing to Hermes who stands to right, looking
round. The goddess wears a peplos. Round her head is a fillet. Hermes is clad in
a short chiton and cloak, and the brim of his petasos is turned up in the back.
In his right hand he holds a kerykeion. The area of glaze in back of the
goddess's left forearm is unintelligible. It cannot be part of her peplos or of
Hermes' cloak, for these garments are clearly defined.
Side B: shoulder: a fight, with horsemen and onlookers,
similar to the one on A. On the left, a woman (1), dressed in a peplos, stands
to right, preceded by a youth (2) with a cloak, and a horseman (3), both to
right. Then come the combatants (4 and 5), each holding out a round shield seen
in profile. The left warrior is nude and almost down on his right knee; the
right wears a short chiton and appears more aggressive. As on the obverse, each
has his right arm raised, but lacks a spear. On the right of the pair is the
second horseman (6) and in back of him, three onlookers, to left. The first (7)
may be Hermes, for he holds a kerykeion and wears boots in addition to his cloak
and petasos. Then comes a youth (8) and a woman (9) each dressed in a long
chiton.
Body: departure of warrior. On the
left stands a man to right, wearing only a cloak and fillet, his left hand
raised in a gesture of farewell. In front of him, a woman in a long chiton with
a cloak over it and a fillet round her head bids farewell to the youthful
warrior (no beard appears below the cheekpiece of his helmet) in front of her
who steps to right, looking round. He wears a low-crested Corinthian helmet, a
short pleated chiton with a corslet over it, and greaves. A sword is suspended
from a baldric over his right shoulder (some of the scabbard appears in back
just above the warrior's chiton) and on his left arm he carries a round shield
seen in profile (device: tripod). The picture is completed on the right by the
youth standing to left wearing a long chiton with a cloak over it.
Added red: Cores of lotuses; hearts of
palmettes. Alternate tongues. Ring at junction. Fillet between foot and body. On
the shoulder of A: part of skirt of chiton of 4; skirt of chiton of 5; cloak of
7; some of peplos of 8 and 1; also horses' manes and tails, and crest of 5. On
the body of A: wreath and fillets; beards; stripes on cloaks; cores of rosettes
on Amphitrite's chiton; most of overfold of peplos, dots on upper part of
overfold, cores of rosettes on skirt; part of chariot box; manes of right-hand
pole and trace horses, tail of right-hand pole horse; breast band of right-hand
trace horse. On the shoulder of B: part of peplos of 1; cloak of 2; shield of 5,
skirt of his chiton; part of Hermes' cloak; part of garments of 8 and 9, horses'
manes and tails and decoration on shield of 4. On the body of B: beard; hair of
youth at right; fillets; stripes on garments; dots on chitons; crest support of
helmet.
Added white: On the body of A: flesh
of goddesses; dots of rosettes on Amphitrite's chiton and the goddess' peplos;
right-hand pole horse. On the body of B: woman's flesh; shield device.
This type of neck-amphora with a broad, flat shoulder is not a very
frequent type and all of the known examples may be dated between 540 and 520
B.C. The most important of them is the earliest,
Berlin F 1720, which is signed on top of the mouth by Exekias as both
potter and painter. Exekias may have introduced this type into Attic
black-figure, just as he probably did the canonical amphora type A, the eye-cup
(see
Champaign 70.8.1,
Moon 1979, No. 51), and the calyx-krater (see
Toledo 1963.26,
Moon 1979, No. 62). Six of his nine neck-amphorae are
of this type (
ABV, 143-144, nos. 1-6),
and four of them also have figures on the shoulder: Narbonne (
ABV, 144, no. 2);
New
York 17.230.14 (
ABV, 144, no.
3;
CVA, USA 16, Metropolitan Museum 4,
pls. 16-19);
Boston 89.273 (
ABV, 144, no. 4;
CVA, USA 14, Boston 1, pls. 29-32);
Munich 1470 (
ABV, 144,
no. 6;
CVA, Germany 32, Munich 7,
pls. 352-354). The potter of our vase may even have known those by
Exekias, and the painter's style shows certain similarities to that of the early
work of the master.
The subject of A suggests a departure, particularly because Hermes is
present. Since Amphitrite drives the chariot, which is unusual, perhaps she and
Poseidon are on their way to the Gigantomachy: on the north frieze of the
Siphnian Treasury, slabs D and E show Amphitrite guiding Poseidon's chariot as
he attacks two oncoming giants (see
Delphi,
Siphnian Treasury Frieze--North; cf. most recently,
BCH Supp. 4 [1977] 316-317, figs. 8-9), and she may have
driven his chariot in the splendid representation of this battle by Lydos on
Athens, Acr. 607 (
ABV, 107, no. 1;
AJA 83 [1979] 91, ills. 1 and 2).
For the harnessing of an actual chariot team in antiquity, cf.
Spruyette 1977, esp. pp. 53-69 for the Greek chariot.
Spruyette has shown that it would not be necessary for the trace horses to be
slightly ahead of the pole horses, as they appear in nearly all representations
of the chariot in profile in archaic Greek sculpture and painting. Very likely,
this manner of representing the team is a convention used to clarify the
elements of the composition. The only exception to this arrangement in Attic
black-figure known to me occurs on
Würzburg L
307, a hydria in the manner of the Antimenes Painter (
ABV, 276, no. 4). Here, the four horses
are shown abreast and the composition appears very dense and crowded.
From about 550 B.C., brands occasionally appear on painted horses.
The earliest example seems to be the swastika incised on the croup of a mount
painted on the hydria in Basel attributed to the Archippe Painter by Bothmer
(
AntK 12 [1969] pls. 17-18). In
reality, they were probably marks of ownership, value, or breeding. Cf., most
recently,
Kroll 1977, 83-146.
Bibliography
Beazley 1958, 40-41;
Para., 59, no. 2.
Mary B. Moore, Hunter College
