Kantharos (Wine Cup)
about 300 BCE
Medium
terracotta, red-figure
Dimensions
16.8 × 14.6 × 9.8 cm (6 5/8 × 5 3/4 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
drinking vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
277
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of ancient Greek symposia with this elegant *Kantharos (Wine Cup)*, crafted by the Kantharos Group around 300 BCE during the Hellenistic period. This terracotta vessel, standing just 16.8 cm tall, exemplifies the refined drinking cups favored in social gatherings where wine flowed freely. Named after its distinctive form—a deep bowl with tall, curving handles rising high above the rim—the kantharos was not only practical but symbolic, often linked to Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium de...