AN ATTIC BLACK-FIGURED PSEUDO-PANATHENAIC AMPHORA

CIRCA 510-500 B.C.

Details

AN ATTIC BLACK-FIGURED PSEUDO-PANATHENAIC AMPHORA
CIRCA 510-500 B.C.
The obverse with Athena striding to the left between two Doric columns surmounted by cocks, the goddess clad in her peplos and aegis, armed with a high-crested helmet, a circular shield and a spear that she wields in her raised right hand; the reverse centered by a pair of boxers striding toward each other with fists in the air, the figure to the left bearded, each contestant with his hands bound in a thong, a bearded referee to the left draped in a himation and holding a staff, and an acontist to the right walking to the right but looking back, a cluster of javelins held horizontally in his right hand, two held vertically in his left; the scenes framed by a band of tongues above, with rays above the foot and lotus palmette chain on the neck, some details in added red and white, a graffito on the underside of the foot
14½ in. (36.8 cm.) high

Provenance

with Galerie der Antike, Berlin.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1983.

Sale room notice

The correct provenance is:
with Galerie der Antike, Berlin.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1983.

Lot Essay

According to Neils ("Panathenaic Amphoras: Their Meaning, Makers and Markets," p. 44 in Goddess and Polis, The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens) these small-scale imitations had a capacity of approximately half that of the prize amphoras. "It has been suggested that these are either wine jars for a victory celebration or commemorative vases which functioned as souvenirs for competitors at the Panathenaia." Further, "an alternative explanation is that these jars were made as export containers for the excess olive oil from the sacred trees of Athena, known as the Moriai."

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