Kylix (drinking cup): Men and Women at the Symposium

Artists

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.

Dimensions

12.1 × 32.2 cm (4 3/4 × 12 11/16 in.)

Provenance

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