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Two-handled jar (amphora) depicting the harnessing of a chariot
Greek
Archaic Period
about 540 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, black-figure technique
Dimensions
Height: 52.5 cm (20 11/16 in.); diameter 37.3 cm (14 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution
Accession Number89.273a-b
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
CVA Boston 1, pl. 29-32.
DescriptionOn the obverse, a nude attendant struggles to harness a rearing horse, grasping and pulling down on his bridle. The horse in the foreground is already harnessed, calmed by another attendant who strokes his mane and nose. A man in a long himation holds the reins of the harnessed horse and stands behind the chariot. Women observe the harnessing scene from either side. On the reverse, an attendant holds the bridle of another horse. At right, an armed warrior followed by a woman carrying his spear walks beside a bridled horse, who approaches a man with his hand raised. The horses and warrior on the reverse may be approaching the chariot on the obverse to be united in preparation for battle. Above the primary scenes on the belly is a continuous frieze showing cock fights observed by young men and flanked by lions and tripods. Below, in the predella, alternating lions and boars circle the vase.
ProvenanceBy 1889: with Pio Marinangeli, Rome (said to have been found at Corneto); March 1889: purchased by R. Lanciani from Pio Marinangeli; purchased by MFA from R. Lanciani, 1889