The Gem Stamp on the Handle of a Mushroom-rimmed Amphora from Knidos: An Assessment of the Centauromachy in Terms of Stamps and Iconography

Tepebaş, Ulus | Alkaç, Erkan

In 1973 a fragment of a stamped amphora with a mushroom-shaped rim was found during archaeological excavations at the “West Harbour Byzantine Church E” in Knidos. The gem-shaped stamp on the handle of this amphora features a mythological scene of a battle between a Centaur and a Lapith. The figure on the right-hand side of the scene on the gem stamp is the Lapith while the half human-half horse figure on the left is the Centaur. The heads and faces of both figures have eroded. Nevertheless, it is possible to provide information about their compositions on the scene. The torso of the Lapith figure on the right is depicted frontally, while the left leg is depicted from the side and right leg from the front. Mushroom-rimmed amphorae were produced at numerous centers across the southern Aegean...