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Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)

Attributed to a painter of the Princeton Group
ca. 540–530 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155
Obverse, Herakles; reverse, Geryon. On the neck, obverse and reverse, a flute-player leading a procession of youths and men

One of the labors of Herakles was to obtain the cattle of Geryon, a creature composed of three fully-armed bodies. Geryon lived on an island in the far west with his herdsman, Eurytion, and dog, Orthros. Here, Herakles takes aim with his arrow against Geryon, one of whose bodies is falling. The subject was popular in the sixth century B.C.; several representations in stone can be seen in the Cypriot galleries on the second floor. The vase is exceptional for its broad and sharply tapering shape that lacks a foot. It is also one of the earliest instances where the protagonists of a story are placed on opposite sides of the body.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)
  • Artist: Attributed to a painter of the Princeton Group
  • Period: Archaic
  • Date: ca. 540–530 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
  • Dimensions: 13 × 8 3/4 in. (33 × 22.2 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: The Bothmer Purchase Fund, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.147
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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Limestone Geryon
2nd half of the 6th century BCE
Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Attributed to the manner of the Göttingen Painter
ca. 500 BCE
Bell, Leaded bronze, Greek
Bell
Greek
3rd or 4th century BCE (?)
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with lid and knob (27.16), Exekias, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with lid and knob (27.16)
Attributed to Exekias
ca. 540 BCE
Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment, Marble, Parian, Greek, Attic
Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment
Greek, Attic
ca. 525–500 BCE

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