This is a relief stele with curved pediment framed by two akroteria. The client, depicted with a beard and sitting on a stool, while holding two kylikes (drinking vessels) in his right hand, was a potter. A himation covers his thighs, but exposes his bare torso. His wavy hair falls on his forehead and neck, while his elegant features convey his strength of character. The empty space to the left was probably filled with a painted scene. Traces of paint are still visible on this stele: blue for the background and red for the frame. It bears an incomplete inscription, which associates it with the potter Pamphaios and the vase-painter Euphronios. It is possible that with this stele the potter dedicated his first products to the goddess Athena, as was customary. Some scholars believe that this relief was executed by the Athenian sculptor Endoios.
Exhibit Features
Date:
Archaic period
Place of discovery:
Athens
Dimensions:
width: 0.76 m, height: 1.22 m
Material:
parian marble
Inventory number:
1332
Suggestive Bibliography
Payne Η., Young G.M., Archaic Marble sculpture from the Acropolis, London, 1936.
Schrader H., Langlotz E., Schuchhardt W.H., Die archaischen Marmorbildwerke der Akropolis, Frankfurt, 1939