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Attic black-figure amphora attributed to the Antimenes Painter 520BC. h. 16" (40cm.) © Trustees of the British Museum |
This scene from an Attic amphora shows how the Athenians harvested their olives in the sixth century BC. The painter has depicted four harvesters: two youths and two bearded older men. One youth sits high in the central tree, beating the branches with a stick; another young boy kneels on the ground as he collects the fallen olives and puts them in a basket. The two older men, holding long sticks for knocking the olives from the tree, seem to keep a close watch on the two younger men; olives that are knocked like this can be damaged, and in particular the man on the right may be watching how carefully the boy sorts and selects the harvest.
These large and beautifully decorated amphoras, containing the finest oil, were often presented as prizes at the Panathenaic Games. From the olive harvest scene here, it seems likely that this vessel would have served such a purpose.
You can read more about this amphora here, on the website of the British Museum.
Beautiful amphora and very interesting story, Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteA superb post! Very interesting to see this amphora; and you have written such an interesting account of the scene. I would not have thought this much about it if I had not read your thoughts. Your words draw me into the scene as if I am there, harvesting along with the olive pickers. Thankyou for a great start to this day. Gilly
ReplyDeleteelmtrees and storycloth - thanks! It is a beautiful amphora, from memory there aren't many (if any) that have such an explicit olive picking scene.
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