ADVENT WINGED NIKE

Advent Calendar Day 23

 
An ancient Greek black jug with a winged figure in orange

   

Winged Nike on a red-figure pottery jug 

A winged Nike, holding a ribbon in her hand, flies across this jug towards a tripod, a symbol of victory. 

Tripods were regularly given as prizes at games or were set up to commemorate victories in battle. This tripod appears to belong to the latter, and the vase may well have been made to commemorate the successful outcome of a battle. Nike means ‘victory’ in Greek and in Ancient Greece this idea was often personified as a winged goddess.

This type of vessel is known as an oinochoe, or wine jug. It is painted in the red-figure technique which allows the features of the goddess and her clothes to be depicted in fine detail.

Attic red-figure pottery jug depicting Nike

The Calliope Painter
450–430 BCE
18 cm tall
AN1896-1908.G.280

On display in the Greek World Gallery on the Ground Floor

   

Detail of an ancient Greek black jug with a winged figure in orange