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Drinking cup (kylix) with youths surrounding a seated man, possibly a divinity
Greek
Archaic Period
about 550–540 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Black Figure
Dimensions
Diameter: 29.2 cm. (11 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
John Michael Rodocanachi Fund
Accession Number1986.512
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
DescriptionDroop cup.
Side A: Seven youths, some nude, some in cloaks (himatia), flanking a seated man.
Side B: Seated man flanked by 5 youths and Hermes (or herald), and there are sphinxes by the handles.
A Droop cup is a type of kylix with a distinctive profile and with figure decoration confined to the handle zone. The subject of this cup is not clear, but the presence of Hermes, Messenger of the Gods, places the scene in the epic past. The seated man may well be a king, such as Agamemnon, who quarreled with Achilles (the nude youth?) at the siege of Troy.
Side A: Seven youths, some nude, some in cloaks (himatia), flanking a seated man.
Side B: Seated man flanked by 5 youths and Hermes (or herald), and there are sphinxes by the handles.
A Droop cup is a type of kylix with a distinctive profile and with figure decoration confined to the handle zone. The subject of this cup is not clear, but the presence of Hermes, Messenger of the Gods, places the scene in the epic past. The seated man may well be a king, such as Agamemnon, who quarreled with Achilles (the nude youth?) at the siege of Troy.
ProvenanceBy 1979: with Christie's (International) S.A., 8 Place de la Taconnerie, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland (auction, Hotel Beau-Rivage, Geneva, May 5, 1979, lot 50); by 1986: with Sotheby's, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1, England (Sotheby's auction, July 14, 1986, lot 388); purchased by MFA from Sotheby's, Sept. 17, 1986