Berlin F 2159 (Vase)
Side A: Herakles and Apollo struggling for the tripodSide B: wrestling
- ID:
- aa_5603
- Beazley Number:
- 200001
- Type:
- Vase
- Date:
- ca. -525
- Period:
- Archaic
- Context:
- From Vulci
- Region:
- Etruria
- Painter:
- Attributed to the Andokides Painter
- Potter:
- Signed by Andokides
- Condition:
The vase is is excellent condition, having suffered only minor discoloration.
- Dimensions:
-
H. with lid 58.2 cm.
- Ware:
- Attic Red Figure
- Shape:
- Amphora
Shape Description
The amphora has a lid.
Decoration Description
Side A: Herakles and Apollo struggling for the tripod. Herakles has the tripod and is trying to escape with it. He strides to the left but looks back over his shoulder at Apollo, who has grabbed one leg of the tripod. He holds his bow in his free hand. Herakles wears a short, pleated tunic, his lionskin belted over it and tied around his shoulders. His beard is painted dark red. Apollo wears a tunic with a short, pleated skirt and a short mantle draped over his shoulder. There is a thin fillet over his long hair. He has sideburns but is unbearded. On the left, Athena, in full panoply, stands watching the struggle. She wears a chiton with an overfold, and a piece of heavier, embroidered fabric is wrapped tightly over it from waist to knee. Her aegis is positioned over her right shoulder so that the Gorgon head is seen in full frontal-face, the snakes shown as separate, projecting attachments. She wears bracelets and her characteristic high-crested helmet. On the right another woman stands watching, holding a stylized flower to her nose. Another 'flower' is held in her other hand. She is dressed in a long chiton and mantle, and wears elaborate earrings and a wreath.
Side B: wrestlers. Two pairs wrestle while a trainer watches. The central pair lunge toward one another, their left legs crossed. The man on the right has wrapped his arms around the other man, grabbing his right elbow from behind his back. The left-hand man in return grips his free hand by the wrist. The man on the left is bearded; the other man's face is partly hidden behind the other man's shoulder. On the right, a young man with side-burns has lifted a bearded man to his shoulder, his arms locked around the man's waist and his legs bent to take the weight. The bearded man has grabbed the younger man's forearms, trying to loosen his grip. The bearded man is shown frontal-face. He has a thin mustache as well as a beard, and his chin-length hair is parted in the middle. The younger man wears sideburns. A mantle hangs between the two pairs and a neck-handled amphora stands below it. On the far left a young man with long hair and sideburns (the trainer) stands watching. He holds a long staff and sniffs a large rose. His long hair falls in tresses over his shoulders and down his back. He wears a rosette-decorated mantle wrapped to leave one shoulder bare and his head partially covered. The index and middle fingers of the staff-holding hand are held out straight.
A crouching hare is depicted at the base of each handle.
Graffiti
Incised on the foot:
- Collection:
- Berlin, Antikenmuseen
The vase was found in a grave chamber at the foot of a "Cucumella" in Vulci, and was subsequently acquired by the museum.
