Amphora with Ajax Carrying the Dead Achilles
(Ancient Greece )
The death of Achilles, which occurred after the events recounted in "The Iliad," was described in another epic poem called "The Aethiopis", which has not survived. On the front of this amphora, the dead Achilles is carried from the Trojan battlefield by his comrade, Ajax. In front of Ajax, a woman leads the way and raises her hand to tear at her hair in a gesture of mourning. Two armed warriors follow behind. On the back, two armed horsemen clash on the battlefield, their horses rearing above a fallen warrior trapped beneath them.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome, before 1897 [no. 183]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2009-2011 | Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), New York. |
1989 | Image and Word. The Mitchell Gallery, Annapolis. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
3/29/1989 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Geographies
Greece, Attica (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 15 x Diam: 11 in. (38.1 x 27.9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.17