Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum
Previous image 1 2 / 2 Next image

Unknown Maker, Greek

Drinking cup (kylix)
Now On View

Maker

Unknown Maker, Greek

Culture

Greek

Title

Drinking cup (kylix)

Year

ca. 550-525 BCE

Medium

  • terracotta,
  • black-figure

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • terracotta,
  • black-figure

Materials

clay

Geography

Place Made: Attica; Origin: Etruria

Dimensions

Height: 7.6 cm (3 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

22.214

Type

  • Ceramics

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

This drinking cup (kylix) is an example of the elaborately painted vessels used during symposia in ancient Greece. The broad, shallow bowl with two handles atop a pedestal base permitted the drinker to maintain a recumbent pose while drinking, as was customary in a symposium. The decorative elements of this kylix demonstrate the Athenian use of imagery to inform, engage, and entertain. Between the large, painted eyes are a satyr and a maenad, followers of the wine god Dionysos. This mythological allusion communicates the intended function of the vessel as a wine cup. The very act of bringing the cup to the drinker’s mouth transforms the cup into a mask; the painted eyes become the drinker’s, the handles turn into ears, and the round base converts into an open mouth.

Betty Woodman
Il Giardino Dipinto
Feb 18, 2005 – May 01, 2005

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Greek
Drinking cup (kylix), ca. 550-525 BCE
Terracotta, black-figure
Height: 7.6 cm (3 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 22.214

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Main Navigation

  • Visit

    • Hours & Admission
    • Accessibility & Amenities
    • Tours & Group Visits
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • Art & Design

    • Collection Research
    • Collection
    • Past Exhibitions
  • Join / Give

    • Become a Member
    • Give
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Watch / Listen / Read

    • The Latest
    • Publications
    • Articles
    • Audio & Video

Footer Secondary Navigation

  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use
Tickets
Homepage
Go to the risd.edu homepage. This link will open in a new window.