Black-Figure Amphora (Storage Vessel) (Primary Title)

attributed to, Swing Painter (Artist)

Educational
ca. 535 BC
Greek (Attic)
Ceramics
Containers-Vessels
Terracotta
Overall: 15 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (38.74 × 26.67 cm)
62.1.2

The Swing Painter was a prolific and playful artisan. This scene of two mares and a stallion may record nothing more than horses at play, but it could be a metaphor for the struggle over Ionia (part of modern Turkey) between “manly” Greeks (the stallion) and “effeminate” Persians (a mare). The scene has also been interpreted as a parody of depictions of battles between Greeks and Amazons (an Amazonomachy) or of a fight over the body of a fallen warrior.

Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
“The Horse in Ancient Greek Art,” National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, VA, September 7, 2017 – January 14, 2018; VMFA, February 17 – July 8, 2018

Encounter I: Space VMFA, Feb. – March 1974

The Greek Line, Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1 – 29 October 1962

January 1962 (Herbert Cahn, Münzen und Medaillen, A.G., Basel); purchased by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Richmond; accessioned into VMFA collection January 17, 1962. [1]

[1] Information in VMFA Curatorial and Registration records.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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