Amphora

Uninscribed Panathenaic amphora in the typical decoration of Panathenaic amphoras: the black figure technique. Even when vases were mainly produced in the red figure the Panathenaic amphoras were still made in black figure and would show on one side the sport or game of the Panathenaic festival that the athletes competed. The reverse side always showed Athena, the goddess celebrated during the festival. Panathenaic amphoras were normally the prizes for the winning athletes and they would be filled with oil. In these cases the amphoras were much bigger in size that this example and they would also be inscribed with the name of the winning athlete. In 56.19.29 Athena holds with her left hand a large shield with a snake. Her right arm is raised behind her and she holds a spear. She stands in between two Doric columns which have a cockerel on top of them. In the other side of the amphora there is a scene of two bearded athletes boxing with their hands bound. To the side of the boxer on the left there is a bearded man with a himation, wrapped around his thighs and across his left shoulder, and covering his left arm. The other end of the himation can be seen hanging at the back of the man. The man has his right arm bent and he holds a long stick. Next to the other boxer on the right there is another standing man: he is completely naked and may be the next competitor. The amphora has been attributed to the Leagors group of painters of pottery. The neck has decoration with a band of long anthemia and underneath the neck there is a narrower band of vertical thick lines in dark brown and black. Many of the details of the bodies of the athletes and the drapery of the judge are in incision, dark brown is used for the beards of the men and the cockerell's top of the heads.