Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter (Munich 2301)

The Belly Amphora in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen at Munich (inventory number 2301) is one of the most famous works by the Andokides Painter. The vase measures 53.5 cm high and 22.5 cm in diameter. It dates to between 520 and 510 BC and was discovered at Vulci. It was acquired by Martin von Wagner, an agent of Ludwig I of Bavaria.

As a bilingual vase, it is an important archaeological source for the transition from attic black-figure pottery to the red-figure style. Bilingual vases are uncommon, and ones that repeat the same subject in the two styles are vanishingly rare; the vase is therefore very often used to illustrate the differences between the two techniques. It is signed by the potter Andokides, who probably made it. Some scholars assume that the black-figure side was painted by the Lysippides Painter, while others suggest that he is identical with the Andokides Painter.