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Kantharos (Drinking Cup)

Cream-colored cup with a small round foot and a thin stem. Two thin arms flare up and out from mid-cup in a "V" shape and bend inward without reconnecting to the cup. The cup's opening tapers in before flaring out again at the lip. Greek letters are inscribed on the cup between the arms and lip.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Cream-colored cup with a small round foot and a thin stem. Two thin arms flare up and out from mid-cup in a "V" shape and bend inward without reconnecting to the cup. The cup's opening tapers in before flaring out again at the lip. Greek letters are inscribed on the cup between the arms and lip.

Date:

310-280 BCE

Artist:

Greek; Apulia, Italy
probably made in Canosa, said to have been found in Tarento, Italy

About this artwork

This style of cup, with its tall, thin stem and symmetrical handles, is called a kantharos. The form was extremely popular for drinking wine in ancient Greece. An inscription near the lip reads [i]Aphrodites[/i], dedicating the vessel “to Aphrodite.” This represents a fitting tribute to the goddess of pleasure and beauty, who was also romantically linked to the wine god, Dionysos.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Kantharos (Drinking Cup)

Place

Apulia (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

310 BCE–280 BCE

Medium

Terracotta with traces of gilding

Inscriptions

"Of Aphrodite."

Dimensions

20.6 × 19.6 × 13 cm (8 1/8 × 7 3/4 × 5 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1889.26

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/183/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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