The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)

Art Object

Historic Images of the Greek Bronze Age: The Reproductions of E. Gilliéron and Son

Seán Hemingway, curator, Department of Greek and Roman Art, discusses early twentieth-century reproductions of works from Sir Arthur Evans's historic excavations of Minoan Crete and Heinrich Schliemann's Mycenaean Greece.

This lecture was recorded on September 9, 2011, in conjunction with the exhibition Historic Images of the Greek Bronze Age: The Reproductions of E. Gilliéron & Son, on view May 17, 2011, through June 17, 2012.

Eros, God of Love
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Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)

Attributed to the Amasis Painter

Period:: Archaic
Date:: ca. 540 B.C.
Culture:: Greek, Attic
Medium:: Terracotta; black-figure
Dimensions:: H. 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm) diameter 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
Classification:: Vases
Credit Line:: Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989
Accession Number:: 1989.281.62

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 154

Description

Obverse, Poseidon, the god of the seas, among Greek warriors
Reverse, the stables of Poseidon

The subjects are drawn from book 13 of Homer's Iliad. Poseidon, seeing the Greeks hard-pressed, decided to help renew their valor. At his underwater palace, he ordered his chariot prepared so that he could ride to their aid. On one side of this cup, an atmosphere of feverish excitement reigns in the stables as grooms attempt to soothe four high-strung horses tethered to columns. Supernatural forces seem to have been unleashed: tiny figures race over the horses' backs and swing down from the architectural frieze above. On the other side of the cup, Poseidon, carrying a trident, urges on the Greek heroes.
References

Milleker, Elizabeth J. 1992. "Ancient Art: Gifts from the Norbert Schimmel Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 49(4): p. 42.

Moore, Mary B. 2004. "Horse Care as Depicted on Greek Vases before 400 B.C." Metropolitan Museum Journal 39: pp. 35, 39-40, figs. 7-8.

Marconi, Clemente. 2009: “Early Greek Architectural Decoration in Function.” In Koine: Mediterranean Studies in Honor of R. Ross Holloway, eds. Derek B. Counts and Anthony S. Tuck. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 6-9, figs. 1.2-1.4.

Mertens, Joan R. 2010. How to Read Greek Vases. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 14, pp. 16, 23-24, 83-88, 90, 104.
See also
Who
Amasis Painter (14)
What
Clay (23,649)

Vessels (21,921)

Vases (8,895)

Terracotta (8,373)

Drinking vessels (6,032)

Cups (3,861)

Kylikes (432)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Greece (6,287)
When
1000 B.C.-A.D. 1 (23,148)
In the Museum
Greek and Roman Art (17,329)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Warfare in Ancient Greece

Greek Gods and Religious Practices

The Symposium in Ancient Greece

Athenian Vase Painting: Black– and Red–Figure Techniques

Greek Art in the Archaic Period

Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
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Attributed to the Amasis Painter

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Historic Images of the Greek Bronze Age: The Reproductions of E. Gilliéron and Son

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Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)

Attributed to the Amasis Painter

Met Media

Met Kids

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