Wine cup (kylix) with maenad and winged figure (restored) each between satyrs and eyes, encircled by vines, dolphins at handles; interior with satyr and vines
Datesecond half of the 6th c. BCE
Periodlate Archaic
Object GeographyAthens, Greece
CultureGreek
Geography NotesSaid to have been "found at" Kourion, Cyprus
MediumCeramic (wheelmade) with black slip, reddish-brown and pale yellow paint, and incised details (Attic Black Figure technique)
ClassificationCeramics
ProvenanceFound by Luigi Palma di Cesnola (American Consul to Cyprus, 1865–1876); purchased by subscription by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1874–1876; (sale, the Anderson Galleries, New York), March 30, 1928; purchased by John Ringling; bequest to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 1936-present.
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN28.830
Scenes celebrating Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, decorate this wine cup. Dolphins leap below the handles, evoking the sea that is described in Homeric literature as “wine dark”. Large protective eyes like those painted at the bow of a ship replace the drinker’s eyes when the cup is lifted.
On View
Not on viewHeight: 3 1/4 in. (8.25 cm)
Width (across handles): 10 3/4 in. (27.25 cm)
Rim
Diameter: 8 1/16 in. ( 20.5 cm)
Wall
Thickness: 3/16 in. (0.4 cm)
Rim
Diameter (interior): 7 15/16 in. (20.1 cm)
Rim iameter exterior: 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm)
Base diameter: 3 1/8 in. (7.97 cm)
best preserved handle width: 2 5/16 in. (5.86 cm)
best preserved handle length: 2 5/8 in. (6.62 cm)
Eye high 2 3/8 in. (5.96 cm), wide 1 15/16 in. (4.98 cm) – same height as figures that fill height of zone around body
Medium Details
Color
Fabric: 5Y 6/6 (reddish yellow)
Slip: 2.5 N/ (black)
Paint: 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown) and 2.5Y 8/2 (pale yellow)
Inclusions
fine
Early 5th Century BC
