Kylix (Drinking Cup)
530-520 BCE
Medium
terracotta, black-figure
Classification
drinking vessel
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
208235
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This vase honors Dionysos as the god of both wine and the theater. When the drinker raised the cup to his mouth, it doubled almost as a theatrical mask, with the handles serving as ears and the circular hollow representing a mouth. The round, wide eyes staring back at the viewer symbolize the intoxicating effects of the drink, the wine god’s gaze, or both. Drinking vessels decorated in this manner are called eye cups. Sometimes a nose appeared between the eyes, but the painter of this cup drew ...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...