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Source Description

This red-figure psykter depicts an athlete and a servant boy on the front. On the left remains the left hand and lower arm of a servant holding a bag (possibly leather) by a strap. On the right a bearded male athlete in profile to the left hunches over infibulating himself; his attention is focused on the bag held by the boy. On the back are a youth and a boy (possibly courting) a dog. On the left a mantled youth with fillet leans forward on a staff. He holds both arms out and far apart, gesturing to the boy on the right. A dog (Laconian hound) sits on the ground to the right before the youth. The boy, who wears a mantle and fillet, stands attentively in profile to the left. The scene on the front is unusual. The bag held by the youth is probably of leather and may be either a small punching bag ("korukos") or simply a vessel for liquid. Leather bags were used for holding oil. The scene on the back is similar to others by the Syriskos Painter. The pose of the youth's hand is that often used by men about to or in the process of fondling their lover's genitals. This suggests a possible identification as a courting scene. The psykter comes from the Tomb of the Leopards in Tarquinia which was excavated by the Marzi brothers in 1875.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
27085
label
Psykter with Athlete and Servant Boy and Youth and a Dog
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
27085
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Psykter with Athlete and Servant Boy and Youth and a Dog
description
This red-figure psykter depicts an athlete and a servant boy on the front. On the left remains the left hand and lower arm of a servant holding a bag (possibly leather) by a strap. On the right a bearded male athlete in profile to the left hunches over infibulating himself; his attention is focused on the bag held by the boy. On the back are a youth and a boy (possibly courting) a dog. On the left a mantled youth with fillet leans forward on a staff. He holds both arms out and far apart, gesturing to the boy on the right. A dog (Laconian hound) sits on the ground to the right before the youth. The boy, who wears a mantle and fillet, stands attentively in profile to the left. The scene on the front is unusual. The bag held by the youth is probably of leather and may be either a small punching bag ("korukos") or simply a vessel for liquid. Leather bags were used for holding oil. The scene on the back is similar to others by the Syriskos Painter. The pose of the youth's hand is that often used by men about to or in the process of fondling their lover's genitals. This suggests a possible identification as a courting scene. The psykter comes from the Tomb of the Leopards in Tarquinia which was excavated by the Marzi brothers in 1875.
provenance
[Excavated at Tarquinia, in the Tomba dei Leopardi, 1874-75]; Marzi Brothers, 1875, by deposition; Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [cat. no. 196], by 1897, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 480 BCE (Classical)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
psykters
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
23.4
height
20.6
dimensionsRaw
H: 9 3/16 x Maximum diam: 8 1/8 in. (23.4 x 20.6 cm); Diam at mouth: 3 in. (7.6 cm); Diam at foot: 4 7/16 in. (11.3 cm)
Source extras
cul
Greek
style
Attic
med
terracotta; red figure
creator_ids
6293
collection_ids
GRC
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
bb1315230ac5e854
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
0ba13f112511a2ba
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
bfdc39db8cbc1d72
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
2bb979a35811e637
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no