Kantharos (Wine Cup)

310-280 BCE

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

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 152
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Kantharos (Wine 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

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 C.L. Hutchinson starting from New York Sat’y Mch. 9, 1889- , (unpublished manuscript, Art Institute of Chicago Archives), p. 27.
Art Institute of Chicago, Preliminary Catalogue of Metal Work, Graeco-Italian Vases, and Antiquities, December 9, 1889 (Chicago: Early and Halla Printing Company, 1889), p. 39, no. 325.
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.
Jasper Gaunt, “Nestor’s Cup and Its Reception,” in Voice and Voices in Antiquity: Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World, vol. 11, edited by Niall W. Slater (Leiden: Brill, 2017), p. 106, footnote 52.

The Art Institute of Chicago, The Classical Collection: Early Accessions, Gallery 101A, October 8, 1986-February 27, 1987.

Said to be found in Taranto, 1878 [Old Register at the Art Institute of Chicago]. 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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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.

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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.

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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.