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Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora

Exekiasabout 540 B.C.

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

In the mythological battles of the Greeks, a conflict did not always end when a warrior killed his opponent. There was often a struggle to decide the fate of the fallen figure’s body. The defeated warrior’s comrades tried to recover the corpse, in order that it could be buried, while their opponents sought to strip it of armor, mutilate it or hold it for ransom. 

The front of this Athenian black‑figure neck‑amphora shows such a conflict. In the center of the scene, two warriors battle over a corpse, stripped of all its armor except for the helmet and shield. A similar scene appears to the left. To the right, a warrior chases a fleeing opponent. The scene on the back of the vase shows a group of warriors flanked by riders and onlookers, and a procession of galloping horsemen decorates the shoulder on both sides of the vase

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  • Title: Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora
  • Creator: Group E (Workshop of Exekias), Painter of London B 174
  • Date Created: about 540 B.C.
  • Location Created: Athens, Greece
  • Physical Dimensions: 36.2 × 28.6 cm (14 1/4 × 11 1/4 in.)
  • Type: Amphora
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Terracotta
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 86.AE.73
  • Culture: Greek (Attic)
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California
  • Creator Display Name: Attributed to Group E (Workshop of Exekias) (Greek (Attic), active 560 - 540 B.C.) near the Painter of London B 174 (Greek (Attic))
  • Classification: Vessels (Containers)
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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