--- title: Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter author: Trustees of the British Museum source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/512/black-figured-amphora-wine-jar-signed-by-exekias-a/ format: machine-readable-alternate updated: 1970-01-01 --- # Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter _Authored by Trustees of the British Museum_ ## Image File [![Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/512.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/512.jpg) ## Image Caption [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/), about 540-530 BC Made in [Athens](https://www.worldhistory.org/Athens/), [Greece](https://www.worldhistory.org/greece/); found at [Vulci](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vulci/) (now in Lazio, [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/)) [Achilles](https://www.worldhistory.org/achilles/) killing the [Amazon](https://www.worldhistory.org/amazon/) Queen Penthesilea Penthesilea brought her Amazon warriors to help the Trojans defend their [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/), but was killed in combat with Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors. The scene on this vase shows Achilles looming above her as she sinks to the ground. Achilles's face is masked and protected by his helmet; Penthesilea's helmet is pushed back to expose her features and emphasize her vulnerability at this vital moment. Her spear passes harmlessly across Achilles's chest, while his pierces her throat and blood spurts out. According to a later version of the story, at this very moment the eyes of the two warriors met and they fell, too late, in love. On the other side of the vase, [Dionysos](https://www.worldhistory.org/Dionysos/), [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) of wine, is shown with his son Oinopion. The vase is signed, just behind Achilles's right arm, by Exekias as potter. The painting has also been attributed to him. The [amphora](https://www.worldhistory.org/Amphora/)'s taut and rounded shape is emphasized by the spirals around each handle, and the figures, the pattern decoration and the [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/) are all immaculately rendered. Exekias was perhaps the finest of all painters to use the black-figure technique. L. Burn, The British Museum book of Gre (London, The British Museum Press, 1991) D. Williams, Greek vases (London, The British Museum Press, 1999) ## Cite This Work ### APA Museum, T. o. t. B. (2012, April 26). Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Museum, Trustees of the British. "Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 26, 2012. . ### MLA Museum, Trustees of the British. "Black-figured amphora (wine-jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter." *World History Encyclopedia*, 26 Apr 2012, . ## License & Copyright © Trustees of the [British Museum](http://www.britishmuseum.org/). Republished under the British Museum [Standard Terms of Use](http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use.aspx) for non-profit educational purposes. [Original image](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/ancient_greece_and_rome/room_13_greece_1050-520_bc.aspx) by [**Trustees of the British Museum**](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/ancient_greece_and_rome/room_13_greece_1050-520_bc.aspx). Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 26 April 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Copyright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright). You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.