Wine Ladle (Kyathos) with Courtship Scene

Artist Workshop of the potter Nikosthenes (Greek)

Place of OriginGreece, Athens (with a questionable dealer-reported findspot in Vulci, Italy)

Dateabout 510-490 BCE

DimensionsH (to top of handle): 6 1/6 in. (15.4 cm); H (to lip): 2 31/32 in. (7.5 cm); Diam (lip): 4 7/16 in. (11.3 cm); Diam (foot): 2 11/32 in. (6 cm)

MediumTerracotta with black-figure decoration, added red and white .

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1966.110

Not on View

DescriptionTall-handled kyathos featuring large painted eyes and a figural scene between them. Depicts a bearded man in himation holding a fruit or ball, interacting with a nude youth carrying a white rooster. Details include added red and white pigments and delicate incision. Moulded ridge on handle strap with ivy leaf and three-tiered knob at apex.

Label TextThis wine ladle, or kyathos, depicts a bearded man perhaps talking with a youth holding a rooster—a traditional courtship gift. The scene shows the romantic or sexual aspect common to traditional mentorships between adult men and adolescent boys in ancient Athens . While these relationships were accepted in their historical context, they are understood differently today and raise uncomfortable questions about exploitation, power imbalances, and consent. The large eyes flanking the central scene served to ward against evil and added visual impact, animating the vessel when it is seen from different angles.Published ReferencesRiefstahl, Rudolf M., "Greek Vases," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 11, no. 2, 1968, p. 34.

Eisman, M.M., "New Attributions of Attic Kyanthoi," American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 77, 1973, p. 71.

Luckner, Kurt T., "Greek Vases: Shapes and Uses," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 15, no. 3, 1972, p. 79.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus vasorum antiquorum: Toledo Museum of Art, U.S.A. Fasc. 17, Toledo, 1976, p. 21-22, repr. pl. 30.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Beazley, John D., "Some Attic Vases in the Cyprus Museum," Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. 33, 1947, pp. 198 ff. (on the meaning of this conventional pose of men and boys).