Kylix (drinking cup)

Place of OriginGreece

Date1375-1300 BCE

DimensionsH (to top of handle): 7 1/2 in. (19.0 cm); H (to rim): 7 in. (17.8 cm); Diam (rim): 6 5/16 in. (16.0 cm); Diam (foot): 3 27/32 in. (9.8 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware

ClassificationCeramics

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

Object number

1971.134

Not on View

DescriptionThis wheel-thrown earthenware stemmed cup, or kylix, features a deep, semi-globular bowl supported by a tall, cylindrical stem and a circular foot. Two opposing vertical ribbon handles rise slightly above the rim. The surface is decorated in brownish-red slip against a buff ground. The primary decorative frieze on the upper body consists of a net-like pattern of tricurved arches (Furumark Motif 62), arranged in two horizontal rows. The interstices of the arches are filled with small circles. A variation in the pattern occurs near one handle where the arch is formed by two parallel lines instead of the standard three. The rim is banded with slip inside and out. Below the decorative frieze, the body is encircled by seven thin horizontal lines. The stem is solid slip-painted, and the foot features three concentric bands alternating with reserved lines.

Label TextThis elegant, high-stemmed cup, known as a kylix, was the standard drinking vessel of the Mycenaean world. Found in great quantities in the palaces of Mycenae and Pylos, such cups were essential for the large-scale feasting rituals that helped elite rulers consolidate their power and social bonds. The decoration features a "tricurved arch" pattern resembling a net, a popular motif of the 14th century BC.Published ReferencesWittmann, Otto, ed., "Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, 1976, p. 46.

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Toledo Museum of Art, fasc. 2, U.S.A. fasc. 20, Mainz, 1982, pl. 64, 1.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Symeonoglou, Sarantis, "A Chart of Mycenaean and late Minoan Pottery," American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 74, no. 3, 1970, pp. 285-288.