| Macmillan aryballos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Clay |
| Height | 6.9 cm |
| Width | 3.9 cm |
| Created | c. 640 BC by theChigi Painter |
| Discovered | before 1890 Greece |
| Present location | British Museum,London |
TheMacmillan aryballos is aProtocorinthian potteryaryballos in the collection of theBritish Museum. Dating to around 640 BC, it is 6.9 cm high and 3.9 cm in diameter, and weighs 65 grams.[1]
The vase is attributed to theChigi Painter.[a][2] Its provenance is uncertain:Cecil Smith reported that it was acquired by Malcolm Macmillan atThebes, and suggests that it was originally found in a tomb outside the town;[3] but the British Museum Register records it as having been acquired by Macmillan inCorinth.[1] It was gifted to the British Museum by Macmillan in 1889.[4]
The vase is made out of a yellow coloured clay, and painted in shades of brown and purple. Fine details are incised into the clay.[4] The upper part of the vase is in the shape of a lion's head,[1] which appears to have been modelled rather than cast from a mould.[5]
The vase is painted with a floral chain at the shoulder, three bands of figurative decorations, and rays at the base.[6] The top band is 2 cm high, and painted with a scene of eighteen warriors engaged in combat.[7] Unlike on theChigi vase, another work by the same artist, where twophalanxes are depicted, the Macmillan aryballos showshoplites engaged in single combat.[8] It stretches all the way around the aryballos, and has no clear beginning or end.[7] Each warrior wears a crested helmet andgreaves, carries a round shield (each of which is decorated with a different device), and is armed with one or two spears.[7] The army coming from the right-hand side is depicted as victorious; the soldiers coming from the left are defeated.[b][10]
The second band is 1 cm high and depicts a horse race, with six horses galloping from right to left. Beneath one of these horses there is a swan and a crouching figure, possibly an ape.[7] The third band is 4 mm high and is decorated with a hunting scene, in which a hunter and hounds chase a hare and a fox or jackal.[3] Jeffrey Hurwit interprets the three scenes as depicting different stages in a man's life: the hunting scene for boyhood, the racing for young men, and the battle scene for fully adult men.[11]
