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Figures stand around a chariot while an eclectic parade marches above.

The vessel has a wide shallow rim and two horizontal handles and one long handle which connects to the rim. In red, black, and yellow there is a scene in two tiers. The lower tier is bordered in ivy and depicts a man driving a two-horse chariot while three men, one of whom wears a helmet and a shield, stand around the horses. The upper tier has three nude figures, two robed figures, and one central figure riding a horse. The rest of the vessel is painted black.

Gallery Text

An elderly, bearded man in a white garment bids farewell to a helmeted warrior with white shield, probably his son. They communicate across the two-horse chariot — complete with charioteer — that will take the warrior to battle in a fashion more fitting for a hero of the Iliad than a sixth-century BCE Athenian. Without name inscriptions, it remains unclear whether this is a specific mythological scene or a generic one. Regardless, the image casts the common experience of a warrior’s departure in an exemplary, heroic light. Vessels with this subject matter were suitable tomb offerings and exported to other parts of the Mediterranean.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1969.14
Title
Hydria (water jar): Warrior's Farewell
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Black-figure Hydria: Hero's departure
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
c. 550-540 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Attica
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/287356

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3410, South Arcade
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Black-figure
Dimensions
H. 42 x W. with handles 39 x Dia. 31 cm (16 9/16 x 15 3/8 x 12 3/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Private collection.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Beazley Archive Database #9555

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of a supporter of Sardis in recognition of Professor George M.A.Hanfmann and his eleven seasons as field director of the Harvard-Cornell Archaeological Exploration of Sardis
Accession Year
1969
Object Number
1969.14
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Antiquities, auct. cat., Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. (January 24, 1964), no. 216a
  • "Accessions of American and Canadian Museums", The Art Quarterly (1969), vol. XXXII, p. 324
  • David Gordon Mitten and Suzannah F. Doeringer, "Two New Greek Black-Figure Vases", Fogg Art Museum Newsletter, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, April 1969), vol. VI, no. 4, p. 107
  • [Unidentified article], Art Journal (1969), vol. 29, p. 53, fig. 1
  • John G. Pedley, "A Black-Figure Hydria in the Fogg Art Museum", Studies Presented to George M.A. Hanfmann, ed. David Gordon Mitten, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1971), pp. 121-126, pls. 32-33
  • David Gordon Mitten and Amy Brauer, Dialogue with Antiquity, The Curatorial Achievement of George M. A. Hanfmann, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1982), p. 11, no. 11.

Exhibition History

  • Dialogue with Antiquity: The Curatorial Achievement of George M.A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum, 05/07/1982 - 06/26/1982
  • HAA132e The Ideal of the Everyday in Greek Art (S427) Spring 2012, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2012 - 05/12/2012
  • 32Q: 3410 South Arcade, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu