Katelyn Merkley
ART HISTORY
Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:20 PM
December 3, 2012
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man”
Amphora depicting “Temple with warrior paying
respects to deceased man” is significant because it displays
motifs of classical Greek art and pottery. The Shape of the vase
links the piece to events more than a decade prior to its
creation. The drawings and motifs on the vessel display
traditions of Greek culture in the time period, and the practices
and traditions related to funerary services and honor of those
Figure 1: Amphora depicting
“Temple with Warrior
paying respects to deceased
man.” 340-330 BCE. Utah
Museum of Fine Art.
who have passed on to the next life.
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying
respects to deceased man” is a long neck amphora vase. It was created between 340 BCE
and 330 BCE. It stands 39 inches high and has a diameter of 14 ½ inches. Made of
pottery, it is decorated in red and black slip and carved to relieve the figures in the
remaining red color. Given to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts by Elmer Davy, it now is
conserved with funds from the Ann K. Stewart Docent and Volunteer Conservation Fund
in Salt Lake City, Utah on the campus of the University of Utah. I chose this piece with
an interest to the form of the vessel and curiosity of the figures decorations that adorn the
vase.
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man” is
an amphora vessel with a distinct shape with exaggerated features. The neck is long and
slender with two long handles connecting to the wide shoulders of the vase. The body of
the Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man” is
similar to the shape of an acorn, widest at the shoulders and narrowing slowly until a
sharp but graceful bowl effect. The foot of the amphora is narrow matching the shape of
the neck and mouth, however, it is flipped upside down leaving the widest point where it
would connect with the surface it should stand upon.
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man” is
decorated completely in the round, decorated with black and red slips, separated into
registers. It is a red figure vase. The band near the lip of the vase is decorated with a
white, stylized laurel wreath. The neck is separated into three registers; each one consists
of repeating geometric designs of flowers. The register around the shoulder of the vase
contains white, flowing vectors which vine it’s way around the vase. The body of
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying
respects to deceased man” is mainly one large
register with two scenes on the front and back of the
vessel. What is believed to be the front of the vase,
two men are inside a simple depiction of a temple.
The temple is in the Ionic order with a plain frieze
and simple depictions of columns closing the space
Figure 2: Detail Amphora depicting
“Temple with Warrior paying respects to
deceased man.”
holding the two men. The man on the left is sitting
on a stool wearing a toga. He is inspecting the hand of the man in front of him. The man
on the right is clothed in soldiers uniform. A sword is slung around his back, he holds a
staff in his left hand and a shield rests at his side against his leg. Outside the temple, four
figures are seen, two men two women. The men are seen naked with clothing loosely
draped from their shoulders. They are in opposing corners diagonally. The man to the top
left of the temple is shown sitting on while the other is standing. Both are holding onto
decorated wreathes. The women each are opposite the temple from the men and mimic
their posture. The women are both clothed traditionally. The woman standing at the
bottom left of the temple holds up an open scroll with ties falling from her hand. The
other woman holds a dish in her hand similar to a deep plate or wide bowl in her right
hand.
The reverse of Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to
deceased man” shows the same figures that were surrounding the temple, the two women
and two men. They now surround a large scroll, closed and
bound with a black tie. The seated woman is at the top left of
the scroll. She is holding a rectangle, in her right hand, with
two lines that cross each other as they are drawn from corner
to corner of the rectangle. In her left hand, she is holding on
Figure 3: Back Detail. Amphora
depicting “Temple with warrior
paying respects to deceased man.”
to a wreath or necklace at her side. The man across from her
is also holding a rectangular object that resembles what
would be associated as a large letter envelop. The man and woman underneath the
previously mentioned figures hold fans facing towards the scroll, which is atop a
pedestal. The woman also holds a bowl shaped dish. Between the two scenes, splitting
the front scene from the back, ornate designs of abstract flora band vertically from the
joint between the handles and the shoulder of the vase.
Underneath the main register on the body, a thin, designed geometric register
circles the vase. A solid black band defines the bottom of the vessel. The foot contrasts
the vase’s bottom with solid red and then a band of design on the foot.
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man” has
been created to describe the common practices of funerary processions and respect to
those who have passed from this life. In the main scene, the focal point of the two men in
the temple display a motif found in Greek funerary art, The farewell hand shake. The
farewell hand shake was used to display a final connection between the deceased and the
living. Generally found on steles in Greek tombs, the handshake displayed on Amphora
depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects to deceased man” is used to distinguish
the vase from a standard vase.
The shape of the amphora may be a reference in itself to the life of the deceased
man. The distinctive features of this amphora vase classifies it be
designed after the Panathenaic amphora of the 500’s BCE.
Panathenaic amphora in the 6th century BCE was created for the
purpose to be awarded at the Panathenaic Games annually in
Athens. Similarly to the games at Olympia, the Panathenaic games
were competitions of physical feats and recitation. The award was
a large amphora vase filled with precious oils. The connection
between the shape of Amphora depicting ”Temple with Warrior
paying respects to deceased man” can be found through the
Figure 4: Panathenaic
black-figure amphora.
323-322 BCE.
Terracotta. H. 66.5 cm.
Benghazi.
purpose of the vase. Rather than holding victory oils, the vessel held oils for the
deceased, as was custom in the 4th century BCE.
The woman to the right of the temple holding a bowl reiterates the concept that
the vase held oils. Following a wake and funerary banquet, the body of the deceased was
placed in a tomb, buried or cremated. The custom was to visit the grave of the deceased
and adorn them with burnt food, libations, oils, and worldly riches such as jewelry or
personal possessions. The figures surrounding the temple are shown in this practice
adorning the temple or tomb of the deceased with libations, wreaths, and jewelry,
(Wilson 2006).
The concept of taking the functional design of the vase shape, popular to the
Panathenaic games, and altering the use for funerary practices was
not unique to Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying
respects to deceased man.” Red Neck Amphora with woman
visiting funerary monument uses the same motif and design nearly
identically. The focus is on a woman in a temple surrounded by
figures holding fans, and other goods. It too is ornately decorated
similar to the decorations of the Amphora depicting “Temple with
Warrior paying respects to deceased man.”
Amphora depicting “Temple with Warrior paying respects
to deceased man” is a significant work of art because the concepts
Figure 5: Red Neck
Amphora with woman
visiting funerary
monument. The
Ganymede Painter.
Italy, Apulia. Ca. 330–
320 B.C.E.
that it has utilized for a specific purpose. The artist adapted a concept of a pottery shape
related to victory and honor to a function of respect for the deceased. Specific to one
man, it shows a tradition of those who were in close contact with the deceased man
continuing to honor him and respect his life. The piece is important to Art History
because it shows the early adaption of ideas and movements to create a piece that
expresses a concept through more than subject matter.
Bibliography
Bothmer, Deitrich von. A Panathenaic Amphora. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bulletin , New Series, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Oct., 1953), pp. 52-56
Davies, Glenys. The Significance of the Handshake Motif in Classical Funerary Art.
American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 89, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp 627-640.
Macau Museum of Fine Art, " Panathenaic black-figure amphora." Last modified 2012.
Accessed December 4, 2012.
http://www.mam.gov.mo/photodetail.asp?productkey=2008041201010&lc=3.
Museum of Art and Archaeology, "Final Farewell: the Culture of Death and the
Afterlife." Last modified 2011. Accessed December 4, 2012.
http://maa.missouri.edu/exhibitions/2007/FinalFarewell.html.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Amphora depicting “Temple with warrior paying
respects to deceased man.” Last modified 2012. Accessed December 3, 2012.
http://collections.umfa.utah.edu/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/
1366#
Wilson, Nigel Gary. Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge, 2006.