Obverse, Apollo; reverse, Herakles: the struggle for the Delphic tripod
In the Archaic tradition, depictions of the struggle for the Delphic tripod emphasize the narrative: Herakles comes to Delphi to carry off the tripod, which is central to the sanctuary's prophetic activity; Apollo, the presiding deity, keeps firm hold of it. By contrast, the Kleophrades Painter emphasizes the protagonists rather than the action: Apollo moves purposefully, asserting himself simply by raising his right hand; Herakles has possession of the tripod, which he appears to defend with his club. The outcome is conveyed by the characterization of the figures.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with twisted handles
Artist:Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter
Period:Archaic
Date:ca. 490–480 BCE
Culture:Greek, Attic
Medium:Terracotta; red-figure
Dimensions:H. 18 5/8 in. (47.3 cm)
Classification:Vases
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1913
Object Number:13.233
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1914. "Department of Classical Art Accessions 1913: Vases and Terracottas." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 9(11): p. 233, fig. 1.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1917. Handbook of the Classical Collection. p. 105, fig. 64, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A., Marjorie J. Milne, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1922. Shapes of Greek Vases. New York.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1927. Handbook of the Classical Collection. pp. 124–25, fig. 83, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1930. Handbook of the Classical Collection. pp. 124–25, fig. 83, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. and Marjorie J. Milne. 1935. Shapes and Names of Athenian Vases. pp. 3–4, fig. 20, New York: Plantin Press.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1936[1934]. A Guide to the Collections, Part 1: Ancient and Oriental Art, 2nd edn. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. and Lindsley F. Hall. 1936. Red-Figured Athenian Vases in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 13, pp. 36–37, pls. 14, 15, 169, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1946. Attic Red-Figured Vases: A Survey. p. 63, figs. 24g–h, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1953. Handbook of the Greek Collection. pp. 71, 213, pl. 53e, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1958[1946]. Attic Red-Figured Vases: A Survey, Revised Edition, 2nd edn. p. 63, figs. 24g–h, New Haven: Yale University Press.
von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1962. "Painted Greek Vases." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 21(1): p. 1.
Beazley, John D. 1963[1942]. Attic Red-figure Vase-painters, Vols. 1 and 2, 2nd ed. pp. 183, 1632, no. 13, Add. 1, pp.181–93, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1970. Perspective in Greek and Roman Art. p. 25, n. 2, New York and London: Phaidon Press.
Beazley, John D. 1971. Paralipomena: Additions to Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters and to Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters [2nd edition]. p. 340, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1972. Greek Vase Painting: An Introduction. no. 20, pp. 6, 40–41, 70, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1972. "Greek Vase Painting." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 31(1): no. 16, pp. 6, 40–41, 68.
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). 1990. Vol. 5: Herakles-Kenchrias. "Herakles," p. 135, no. 2958, pl. 126, Zürich: Artemis Verlag.
Cohen, Beth. 2006. "Added Clay and Gilding in Athenian Vase-painting." The Colors of Clay: Special Techniques in Athenian Vases, Beth Cohen, ed. pp. 106–7, 116, fig. 1, n. 3, Malibu: J. Paul Getty Trust.
Picón, Carlos A. 2007. Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greece, Cyprus, Etruria, Rome no. 119, pp. 109, 429, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
