Greek black-glaze kantharos, Boeotia, c.450 BC
Terracotta
Height: 12.5cm, diameter of cup: 12.5cm, width across the handles: 19.5cm
10337
Further images
The cup has straight, slightly outward-flaring sides, thickened rim, carination at the base of the bowl and a reserved groove above the low, rounded foot. A pair of high-arching strap...
The cup has straight, slightly outward-flaring sides, thickened rim, carination at the base of the bowl and a reserved groove above the low, rounded foot. A pair of high-arching strap handles either side of the body, slightly concave in cross-section, with external flat-topped spurs towards the base. The ring foot has a slightly convex underside with a dotted circle in the centre and is reserved, with a red wash. The black glaze is semi-lustrous, some rootillation to the surface, chips on the interior, a section of the foot reattached, the underside with a calciferous incrustation.
The kantharos (pl. kantharoi) is a cup used specifically for drinking wine and is commonly depicted on figured vases in Bacchic scenes where the god of wine, often in a state of inebriation, is holding such a cup. The kantharos is characterised by its deep bowl and two vertical handles. One subdivision of the shape which features in this catalogue is the sessile kantharos. The stability of this kantharos variant made it a popular form. The development of these vessels is so limited that it is assumed they all originate from one workshop, near to the Agora in Athens.
The kantharos (pl. kantharoi) is a cup used specifically for drinking wine and is commonly depicted on figured vases in Bacchic scenes where the god of wine, often in a state of inebriation, is holding such a cup. The kantharos is characterised by its deep bowl and two vertical handles. One subdivision of the shape which features in this catalogue is the sessile kantharos. The stability of this kantharos variant made it a popular form. The development of these vessels is so limited that it is assumed they all originate from one workshop, near to the Agora in Athens.
Provenance
Private collection, Antwerp, Belgium; acquired 1950s-60s, thence by descentLiterature
Compare Florian S Knauss and Jörg Gebauer, Black is Beautiful, Griechische Glanztonkeramik (Munich, 2019), p.154, cat.no.113 and John W. Hayes, Greek and Italian Black-gloss Wares and Related Wares in the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, 1984), pp.15-16, nos.23-24