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Reconstruction of part of the East Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, 500-480 BCE. Runner and archer.
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Reconstruction of part of the East Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Gre...

Clay ground 'Hadra' hydria (water-jar), Greek, probably from Egypt, c200 BC. This vase is decorated in the black-figure technique, with a bull's head flanked by swans in a panel between the handles. The plunging dolphins on the shoulder are a popular Hellenistic motif. The Greek word Dorotheou, 'of Dorotheos', incised above the bull's head, is the name of the person whose ashes this vase originally contained. 'Hadra' hydriai are named after the Alexandrian cemetery of Hadra where large numbers of them have been excavated. Some were made locally, but analysis of the clay has demonstrated that many, including this example, were imported from Crete. Their principal use appears to have been as ash-urns to contain the remains of foreign dignitaries who became ill and died while on official visits to the Egyptian court. GR, 1995.10-3.1
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Clay ground 'Hadra' hydria (water-jar), Greek, probably from Egypt, c200 BC. Thi...

Red-figured volute-krater, made in Apulia, Italy, Greek, c325 BC. Wine bowl depicting a white naiskos (small temple) and its occupant, a youth and his horse. Ionic columns support a pediment; the ceiling beams are shown receding into the distance. Below is a plinth decorated with a spiral design. Behind him hang his breastplate and his greaves, (armour for the lower leg). In the course of the fourth century BC, vase painting in Apulia grew increasingly ornate. The elaborate decoration on the neck of this vase, where a female head emerges from an intricate design of scrolls and flowers, is characteristic of late Apulian style. The vase was one of the finest pieces in the first collection of Sir William Hamilton. Josiah Wedgwood produced several replicas of it in black basalt. GR, 1772.3-20.14* (Vases F 284)
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Red-figured volute-krater, made in Apulia, Italy, Greek, c325 BC. Wine bowl depi...

Red-figured hydria, Greek, c420-c400 BC. The figures on this hydria are divided into two zones. The upper zone illustrates the abduction of the daughters of Leukippos by the Dioskouroi, Kastor and Polydeukes (Castor and Pollux). Aphrodite, goddess of love, sits in the lower part of the scene, clearly conniving in the abduction. Her attendant Peitho, goddess of Persuasion, flees from the scene, but Aphrodite and Zeus, father of the Dioskouroi, do not seem moved. The scene in the lower zone shows Herakles performing his final Labour, receiving the golden apples of the Hesperides from the nymphs responsible for guarding the tree in a garden at the end of the earth. Both scenes are remarkable for their peaceful treatment of violent subjects. This softened mood, along with the delicate treatment of the drapery, is very characteristic of late fifth-century Athenian vase painting. GR, 1772.3-20.30* (Vase E 224)
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Red-figured hydria, Greek, c420-c400 BC. The figures on this hydria are divided...

Red-figured squat lekythos, Athens, Greece, c420-c400 BC. The elegant faces of the women in this garden scene and their fine, multi-pleated drapery are very characteristic of the style of the Meidias Painter and his associates. The names of all the figures are written alongside in white letters. The seated figure is Aphrodite, goddess of Love; Eros, her son and messenger, sits on her shoulder. The figure to the right of them is Peitho, goddess and personification of Persuasion. Peitho is attaching sprays of leaves to a basket known as a kanoun, which was carried in processions. The three female figures to the left of Aphrodite are Kleopatra ('Of noble parentage'), Eunomia ('Good Order') and Paidia ('Games and Playfulness'). These personifications cluster around the goddess, offering fruit or a necklace. The late fifth-century Athenian cult of 'Aphrodite in the Gardens' is likely to have stressed the goddess's links with nature and the renewal of vegetation. GR, 1856.5-12.15 (Vases E 697)
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Red-figured squat lekythos, Athens, Greece, c420-c400 BC. The elegant faces of t...

White-ground cup, Greek, c460-c450 BC. Illustrated is the story of Glaukos and Polyeidos, an old Cretan myth. Glaukos was the son of Minos, king of Crete. One day he disappeared while playing ball or chasing a mouse, and a long search failed to find him. Eventually the seer Polyeidos found the boy, drowned in a vat of honey. Minos shut Polyeidos up in a tomb with Glaukos' body, and told him either to bring the child back to life or to die there with him. As he sat in the tomb, Polyeidos saw a snake approach, and he killed it in case it harmed the body. A second snake appeared, saw its dead mate, went away and returned with a leaf which it rubbed over the dead snake and so restored it to life. Polyeidos picked up the leaf and applied it to Glaukos, with similarly miraculous results. GR, 1892.7-18.2 (Vases D 5)
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White-ground cup, Greek, c460-c450 BC. Illustrated is the story of Glaukos and P...

Black-figured neck-amphora, from Vulci in Etruria, made in Athens, Greece, c530-c520 BC. This particular amphora is unusual, with its handles reaching right up on to the rim. The delicate, small-scale, black-figure work on this vase has been attributed to the painter Psiax, one of the first painters to work also in red-figure. Another more influential painter who worked in red-figure on larger vases potted by Andokides was an anonymous artist known as the Andokides Painter. The Andokides who signed this pot may well be the same Andokides whose name appears (with that of another potter) on a marble inscription on a statue base found on the Athenian Acropolis. If so, his potting had certainly made him rich as only the rich could afford to dedicate bronze or marble statues. GR, 1980.10-29.1
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Black-figured neck-amphora, from Vulci in Etruria, made in Athens, Greece, c530-...

Terracotta figure seated on a throne, Mycenaean, from Greece, c1300 BC. This charming little terracotta shows a small female figure seated on a three-legged high-backed chair or throne. She wears a flat polos (headdress) and sits with her arms upraised and her legs curled up on the chair. She is perhaps a goddess or a priestess and was probably made as a dedication for a sanctuary. GR, 1992.10-15.1
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Terracotta figure seated on a throne, Mycenaean, from Greece, c1300 BC. This cha...

Terracotta scent bottle in the form of a fat, squatting man, Greek, c520 BC. This scent bottle is in the form of a fat man in a semi-seated position, with his hands across his rotund stomach. He is a caricature, made for comic effect. Many bottles of this shape are known, and it has been suggested that the figure type shows Egyptian or Phoenician influence. Rhodes was prosperous in antiquity because of its key position. It lies close to the coast of Asia Minor, which gave the inhabitants opportunities for contacts and trade. During the sixth century BC the scent trade was important. The scent itself may have been imported, but bottles to contain it were made on the island in a variety of materials and shapes. The full range of scent bottles included both human figures and heads and a wide variety of animals. GR, 1861.10-24.2 (Terracotta 86)
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Terracotta scent bottle in the form of a fat, squatting man, Greek, c520 BC. Thi...

Votive relief dedicated to the Thracian goddess Bendis, Greek, c400-c375 BC. This relief shows two bearded and draped figures leading a troop of eight naked athletes to a representation of the goddess. She is dressed in a sleeved tunic hitched up so as to form a short skirt. An animal skin is draped over one shoulder, while an outer cloak pinned at the neck falls over her shoulders and down her back. Her legs are clad in knee-length boots, and she wears a Phrygian cap with a pointed crown. She holds a libation bowl (phiale). The human figures are represented on a lesser scale. They wear wreaths in their hair and the leading man carries a torch. The bearded men are perhaps the troop's trainer and sponsor. The cult of the goddess Bendis was imported into Athens around 432 BC, at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. GR, 1895.10-28.1 (Sculpture 2155)
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Votive relief dedicated to the Thracian goddess Bendis, Greek, c400-c375 BC. Thi...

Attic red-figured oenochoe showing Amazon women; end of the 5th century BCE.
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Attic red-figured oenochoe showing Amazon women; end of the 5th century BCE.

Attic red-figured krater with scene of the killing of Leukippos, the lover of Daphne; 5th century BCE.
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Attic red-figured krater with scene of the killing of Leukippos, the lover of Da...