Kylix (drinking cup)

Place of OriginReportedly found in the Argolis, Greece

DateMycenaean, 1400-1300 BCE

Dimensions8 1/8 × 9 1/8 × 6 1/4 in. (20.6 × 23.2 × 15.9 cm)
to top of handles: 7 3/4 in. (19.6 cm)
to rim: 7 11/16 in. (19.5 cm)
6 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (16 × 9.6 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware.

ClassificationCeramics

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

Object number

1930.11

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextShells and depictions of other sea life often decorate Mycenaean art, such as the nautilus pattern found on this kylix, or drinking cup. The sea played a considerable role in the success of this culture which, at its height, spanned the coasts of Greece. Ancient sites of Mycenaean culture became the settings for numerous myths, most notably that of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Their culture flourished over the course of five centuries before collapsing around 1200 BCE into what historians refer to as the “Greek Dark Ages,” when writing ceased, art devolved, and most contact with other cultures was lost.Published References

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Toledo Museum of Art, fasc. 2, U.S.A. fasc. 20, Mainz, 1984, pl. 61, 2.