On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Fragmentary sarcophagus with painted designs,
ca. 500–475 BCE
attributed to the Albertinum Painter
East Greek, Clazomenian
y1990-9
Clay sarcophagi of this type were produced primarily at the Greek city of Clazomenae, in Asia Minor. Only parts of it survive, but the painted rim—here mounted vertically—is largely preserved. The sides of the rim are painted with complex pattern work, while the upper surface is decorated with a cable pattern and scenes of warfare, hunting, and exotic animals. In the lowest panel, beneath a pair of griffins, a wild sow is threatened by a leopard and a lion. Farther up, on each side, are smaller images of battle, boar hunts, and racing chariots. In the uppermost frieze, two dueling warriors are flanked by chariots and winged goddesses. The frieze below features a troop of dismounted Greek and Persian cavalry, accompanied by Scythian archers. This grouping helps to date the sarcophagus to Clazomenae’s return to Persian control in the late 490s BCE.
Information
Title
Fragmentary sarcophagus with painted designs
Dates
ca. 500–475 BCE
Maker
attributed to the Albertinum Painter
Medium
Painted terracotta
Dimensions
23.2 x 233.5 x 136.0 x 25.0 cm (9 1/8 x 91 15/16 x 53 9/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
w. bottom 96.3 cm (37 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, gift of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951
Object Number
y1990-9
Culture
Period
Materials
Purchased by the Museum from Herbert Cahn, Basel, in 1990
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1990," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 50, no. 1 (1991): p. 16-69., p. 37 (illus.)
- J. M. Barringer, The hunt in ancient Greece, (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001)., cat no. 35, p. 258
- Nassos Papalexandrou, "A Clazomenian sarcophagus in the Princeton University Art Museum", Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 69 (2010): p. 4-21., figs. 1–18
