This cup was shaped to fit easily in the drinkers hand, and was likely used as part of the Greek symposium. Much like modern academic symposiums, in which people discuss a topic of common interest, debunking old theories and putting forth new hypotheses; the men of ancient Athens regularly got together in private homes to exchange ideas. Afterward the participants might continue the conversation, discussing their impressions in greater detail or simply socializing over a drink. As the evening progressed, participants engaged in other pleasures, including games, performances, and sex. Wine played a major role in fueling these evenings, and as such the myriad vessels used in the symposium often paid homage to drink.
Here, the god of wine Dionysos rides astride a donkey. Before and behind him satyrs - the gods half man half goat companions - are visually aroused by the scene; while a Maenad - their female counterpart - leads the procession while strumming a lyre. The background of this scene is decorated with winding vines, enforcing the themes of wine, revelry and music.
Date
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Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number
1889.10
IIIF Manifest
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William M.R. French, Notes [on a] journey to Europe with Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Hutchinson starting from New York Sat’y Mch. 9, 1889- , (unpublished manuscript, Art Institute of Chicago Archives), p. 25.
Art Institute of Chicago, Preliminary Catalogue of Metal Work, Graeco-Italian Vases, and Antiquities, December 9, 1889 (Chicago: Early & Halla Printing Company, 1889), p. 38, no. 303.
John D. Beazley, Attic Black-Figure Vase Painters (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956) p. 649, no. 242.
A.W. Johnston, Trademarks on Greek Vases (Liverpool: Aris and Phillips Ltd., 1979), pp. 126, 128.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 18., 3E; no. 52.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 155, April 20, 1994-February 6, 2012.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, November 11, 2012 - April 7, 2017.
Augusto Mele, Naples, Italy; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago through J.C. Fletcher as agent, 1889; price reimbursed by Charles Hutchinson and Philip D. Armour, 1889.
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