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Kylix (Drinking Cup)

A work made of terracotta, black-figure.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta, black-figure.

Date:

540-530 BCE

Artist:

Greek; Athens

About this artwork

In the center of this scene, a young man dons armor for battle, affixing a shin guard to his left leg. His helmet rests on the ground, and the woman standing before him holds his shield as attendants look on. Approaching riders on rearing steeds and a running youth give the impression of urgency. Because the soldier is not bearded, which indicates youth, and is so much taller than the other figures, which often indicates special status, he may represent the Greek hero Achilles, whose mother, upon learning that her son would fight in the Trojan War, gave him a suit of armor that she had specially commissioned from Hephaistos, blacksmith to the gods.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Kylix (Drinking Cup)

Place

Ancient Greece (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.

540 BCE–530 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-figure

Dimensions

13 × 28.6 cm (5 1/8 × 11 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Promised gift of Mrs. J. William Holland

Reference Number

10.2011

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/208272/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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