MANNER OF THE ANTIMENES PAINTER, CIRCA 530-520 B.C.

One side of this amphora depicts a popular scene from Homer's Iliad, where Aeneas flees Troy with his son Ascanius, whilst carrying his aged father, Anchises, on his back. Ahead of them stands a woman, who may be identified as Aeneas' wife, Creusa, because of the baby on her shoulder. The depiction of Ascanius varies amongst black-figure workshops of the last third of the 6th century B.C. Sometimes he is shown as a baby, carried by Creusa, but usually he is depicted older, able to walk on his own. On a few vases there are two children shown, one on each side of Aeneas. The particular combination of baby on shoulder and Ascanius as a young boy, as seen on this vase, does not feature on any other known vase paintings. The tight composition of the central group, which emphasises the family bond, is framed by an archer and a hoplite. The reverse of the amphora depicts a quadriga with hoplite to the left.
For a similar black-figured amphora depicting Aeneas escaping from Troy, cf. accession no. 41.162.171 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.