Attic black-figure votive plate (Heidelberg 68/2)
The Attic black-figure votive plate (inventory number 68/2) gives with its picture an eloquent sign of the self-image of the elite of ancient Athens at the time of its creation in the middle of the 6th century BC. Chr.
The black-figure plate, in which incisions were only sparingly used for the details, shows a heavily armored rider on his large, muscular horse as the central main motif. He holds the horse, shown to the side and looking to the right, standing calmly with one hand on the reins. He is armed with his armor, two lances in his free hand, a sword that he wears on his belt and a helmet with a plume. Three youths wrapped in their coats with lances in their hands stand around the horse and the rider. The tallest one stands in front of the rider, facing him. A much smaller one stands behind the horse to the left and looks to the right, an even smaller one appears to be under the horse and looks to the left. The sizes do not indicate real proportions, the vase painter has only adjusted the sizes of the young men to the available space. Behind the rider, an eagle flies in his direction. The figures stand on a stair pattern ornament. Below this there is a second small image field in the tondo , which shows a hare-hunting dog. As a third picture, the painter drew ten bulls on the edge with their feet pointing to the outside, which are guarded by a naked youth with a crop in his hand.
Probably the person depicted is not a real person, but a visualization of someone at the time the plate was made, around the year 540 BC. BC and thus dated to the time of the tyranny of the Peisistratiden , prevailing ideals. Horse and armament identify the person depicted as a "knight" ( Hippeis ), a member of the Attic upper class. The herd of cattle is also supposed to symbolize the wealth of these rich landowners. Likewise the eagle, the sacred symbol of Zeus, who was the patron saint of this caste. The plate has two holes from antiquity, so it can be assumed that it was hung in a sanctuary as a sacrifice, just like most of the traditional plates. Since the location is not known, it cannot be said in which. Roland Hampe suggested that it could be a sanctuary of the goddess Artemis , who was of particular importance to the "nobility" as the goddess of hunting and war, and also in her manifestations as Artemis Kurotrophos the patron goddess of youth, as Artemis Tauropolos mistress of Was bulls. Thus a consecration in the sanctuary of Artemis in Halai would be possible.
The base of the 3.5 to 4 centimeter high and 31.2 centimeter diameter plate is varnished black, as is parts of the underside with concentric stripes. It is composed of several shards and is slightly supplemented and painted over in several places. The surface is partially rubbed and therefore no longer in the best possible condition. The painter had only applied the black-brown varnish irregularly during the execution. Where the order was very thin, the painting burned rusty brown instead of black. Roland Hampe acquired the piece in 1967 at the 34th auction of the Münzen und Medalen AG in Basel .
literature
- Roland Hampe : Attic black-figure plate. In: The same and employees: New acquisitions 1957–1970. (= Catalog of the ancient cabaret collection of the Archaeological Institute of Heidelberg University. Volume 2). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1971, pp. 30–31, plate 52.
- Hildegund Gropengiesser : Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Germany . Volume 31: Heidelberg Volume 4. CH Beck, Munich 1966, ISBN 3-406-00931-X , pp. 46-47 / panel 164, 1-4.