1913.2
Attic Red-Figure Eye Cup
Artist
Bowdoin Eye Painter
Title
Attic Red-Figure Eye Cup
Creation Date
ca. 525 BCE
Century
6th century BCE
Dimensions
5 5/16 in. x 16 3/16 in. (13.5 cm x 41.12 cm)
Object Type
ceramic
Creation Place
Ancient Mediterranean, Italy
Medium and Support
terracotta
Credit Line
Gift of Edward Perry Warren, Esq., Honorary Degree, 1926
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1913.2
Originally used for communal drinking at an Athenian symposium, this cup features athletic figures and palmette motifs, painted in the later red-figure style. The eponymous eye designs on the sides of the cup were understood to provide protection from evil. The ear-like curved handles and mouth-like open base a produced a playful but dramatic mask when the cup was raised to the mouth, and the drinker took on the appearance of a woodland spirit. Dezsö selected this piece due to its exploration of the fluid connection between mythical reality and familiar life.
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