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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1959.124
People
Attributed to Painter of London E 55
Previously attributed to Douris, Greek (active 500-460 BCE)
Title
Kylix (drinking cup): Men and Women at the Symposium
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
480-470 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Attica
Period
Classical period, Early
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/291503

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Red-figure
Dimensions
12.1 × 32.2 cm (4 3/4 × 12 11/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
David M. Robinson, Oxford, Mississippi, (by 1959), bequest; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1959.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Beazley Archive Database #205186

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1959
Object Number
1959.124
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Attic red-figure kylix (drinking cup); losses have been restored in plaster and inpainted. The foot of the cup was lost and has not been restored.

Interior: a man and a woman at the symposium
The tondo is encircled by a meander frieze with a pattern of crosses and X’s within squares. The man and woman recline on a couch with a double-volute bed post. A small table stands in front of the couch with two boots underneath. The woman on the left reclines on a double-folded pillow, holding a flute case and turning backwards to face her companion. The bearded man on the right, also reclining on a double-folded pillow, holds a double flute and gestures to the woman. A symposium basket hangs in the center above the couple. A fragmentary inscription is painted above the basket: [H . Π] Α Ι Σ Κ [A Λ . . ] ("The boy/girl is beautiful.").

Exterior: men and women at the symposium
A. Four people reclining on two couches. Both couches have a double-volute bed post and a table below, with the guests’ boots stored underneath, mirroring the interior tondo.The two standing figures are a male flute player and a nude male youth serving one of the reclining guests with two vessels, a strainer with a swan-head handle and an oinochoe. Symposiasts from left: a woman holds a cup by the foot with her left hand and reaches for her forehead with her right hand. A man reaches for the servant youth with his right arm while supporting his weight with his left arm. A woman holds a cup by the foot with her left hand and holds her shoulder with her left hand, turning to face the man to her right.The man gestures to the woman with both hands. Symposium baskets and kylikes hang above the scene.

B. The scene on this side is heavily damaged, with substantial losses and some firing damage. The composition seems to reflect that of Side A. Four people recline on two couches, with two tables and two pairs of boots below. The nude servant on the left may hold a ladle. The second servant on the right pours an oinochoe. Symposium baskets and kylikes hang above the scene.

Publication History

  • I. Peschel, "Die Hetäre bei Symposium und Komos in der attisch rotfigurigen Malerei des 6.-4. Jhs. v.Chr." (Frankfurt, 1987), pl. 155-156
  • Diana M. Buitron, "Douris, A Master-Painter of Athenian Red-Figure Vases" (Mainz, 1995), pl. 127, n. E13
  • Florian M. Müller, Veronika Sossau, and Erich Kistler, Gefährtinnen: vom Umgang mit Prostitution in der griechischen Antike und heute, Innsbruck University Press (Innsbruck, 2012), p. 45, ill. 9-10
  • Kathryn Topper, The Imagery of the Athenian Symposium, Cambridge University Press (New York, 2012), p. 55, fig. 22.

Exhibition History

  • The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/25/2015 - 01/03/2016; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/17/2017 - 01/07/2018; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/02/2022

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu