Black-Figure Kantharos (Drinking Cup): Lizards Flanking Tree (A); Ducks (B)

Description

Known as a kantharos and often associated with the wine god Dionysos and the hero Herakles, this type of two-handled drinking cup was particularly popular in Boiotia, a region of central Greece northwest of Athens. Also typical of Boiotia is simple black-figure silhouette decoration, without incision. Here and elsewhere, though, Boiotian vase-painters used red paint for additional detail; note the alternating tree leaves, lizard eyes and spots (on the right), and duck eyes.

Provenance

JoAnn Harris, Bath, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-1985); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1985-)

Black-Figure Kantharos (Drinking Cup): Lizards Flanking Tree (A); Ducks (B)

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c. 500 BCE

Accession Number

1985.175

Medium

ceramic

Dimensions

Diameter: 10.7 cm (4 3/16 in.); Overall: 11.2 cm (4 7/16 in.); Diameter of foot: 6.1 cm (2 3/8 in.)

Classification

Ceramic

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of JoAnn Harris