Terracotta neck-pelike (wine jar)

ca. 500 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155
Musical contests: obverse, kithara player; reverse, youth singing to double flute

The platforms on which the performers stand indicate that they are participating in musical competitions. The figure on the obverse holds a kithara, the type of lyre used for performances. His pose and the wreath he wears suggest that he may already have won. The figures on the reverse are entirely absorbed, the flute player within himself, the boy projecting toward his audience.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta neck-pelike (wine jar)
  • Period: Archaic
  • Date: ca. 500 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
  • Dimensions: Overall: 10 1/2 x 6in. (26.7 x 15.3cm)
    diameter 5 11/16in. (14.5cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1907
  • Object Number: 07.286.72
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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