Vase: Animals and Armed Horsemen

ca. 590 BCE-580 BCE

Attributed to Detroit Painter

This large vessel produced for export is a piece made for use at banquets or symposia. Its painted black-figure decoration is arranged in two registers. The upper shows three riders with lances, round shields and plumed ceremonial helmets on mounts with disproportionately long legs. The chariot gradually became a thing of the past in Greece during the first half of the 1st millennium, whereas riding developed thanks to certain technical innovations such as the improved bit attributed to the Corinthians. Horse riding, however, remained a prerogative of the elite, and it became frequent for the aristocrats of Greek cities to have themselves portrayed on horseback in the 6th century BCE.

Artwork Details