Attic black-figure kylix with a horse race
On the surface of the kylix a horse racing scene unfolds. The horses are depicted galloping in an identical way and the body position of the riders is identical too. The jockeys are nude and ride bareback. The presence of the white horse in the middle of one side of the vase is the only contrasting feature of the representation.
The date of kylix coincides with the period of the formal organization of the Panathenaia (566–565 BC), when equestrian competitions were introduced into the Panathenaic programme. The narration of horse races succeeded the scenes of processions with mounted aristocrats, depicted clothed.
- Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. n. A 530
- Ca 560 B.C.
- H. 0.139 m. Rim diam. 0.266 m.
- Clay
- Provenance: Corinth
Bibliography
- Kaltsas, N. (Ed.), (2008). Agon. The spirit of competition in ancient Greece. An archaeological exhibition at the Capital Museum, Beijing, July 31- October 14, pp. 149, cat. no. 49, Athens.
