• m10-lak-app-1-10
    Lakonian Black-figure Cup (Howard Crosby Butler Archive, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University)

Lakonian Black-figure Cup

Date
Ca. 565-525 BC (?), Lydian
Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
MMA 14.30.26
Material
Ceramic
Object Type
Pottery
Pottery Shape
Cup
Pottery Ware
Lakonian Black Figure
Pottery Attribution
Site
Sardis
Sector
Nec
Trench
Butler Tomb 720
Locus
Butler Tomb 720
Findspot
Necropolis, Tomb 720 (excavated 1912).
Description

Complete except for small parts of bowl, rim, foot plate. In the center of the tondo, slight depression. At the juncture of foot and bowl, fillet. Decoration on interior and exterior in cream (close to 10 Y R 7/2, "light gray") slip, dilute and full-strength black (at full strength N3/, "very dark gray") glaze, red (10 R 4/3, "weak red") paint, and incision.

Interior: in tondo, slip with seated sphinx to right and two standing birds or sirens (heads missing), confronted and flanking sphinx's forelegs. Contours in incision; shading in red on sphinx's hair, wing cover, underbelly, and on bird/sirens' wing bars. Outside tondo, slip, over which narrow bands in dilute glaze, broad bands in full-strength glaze and in red paint (over glaze), and reverse sigmas (Stibbe, LV 158, no. 10) in dilute glaze, from inside out as follows: two narrow; broad red; three narrow; reverse sigmas; two narrow; broad; two narrow; broad; two narrow; broad red. From the outermost (red) band, narrow reserved zone and glaze to lip. On lip, slip over which narrow bands and elaborate bud and pomegranate chain (Stibbe, LV 157, no. 5) in glaze. Inside lower stem of foot, glaze, underside of foot plate reserved.

Exterior, from bottom up: on foot plate and lower stem, glaze. Upper stem reserved with narrow bands in dilute glaze and broad bands and pendent rays (Stibbe, LV 158, no. 7) in full-strength glaze. Fillet glazed. On bowl, slip, over which narrow bands in dilute and full-strength glaze, broad bands in red (over glaze), and stemmed pomegranates (Stibbe, LV 156, no. 7), ascendent outlined tongues (Stibbe, LV 157, no. 10), and narrow, closely spaced rays in glaze, from inside out as follows: two narrow; pomegranates; four narrow; broad red; three narrow; tongues; four narrow; broad red; four narrow; rays; three narrow; broad red; three narrow. Handle zone reserved with pomegranate chain (Stibbe, LV 156, no. 9). At top of shoulder, narrow glaze band. On lip, slip, over which tripple pomegranate net (Stibbe, LV 156, no. 17) in glaze.

Cup shape of Stibbe’s Group IX. Decoration attributed by Stibbe to the Rider Painter, Group D. For ornament, Stibbe LV 156, especially nos. 7, 12; 157, especially nos. 4, 10; 158, especially nos. 7, 10; 159, especially no. 9.

Dimensions
H. 0.127; diam. of rim 0.188
Comments
See Also
Bibliography
Published: Chase, 111-14; Lane, “Lakonian,” 150, 151; Richter, Greek Collection 41, pl. 28:g; Shefton, “Lakonian Vase Painters,” 302, 310; Andrew Oliver, Jr., “The Arts of Turkey: Lydia,” BMMA 26:5 (1968) 199; Stibbe, LV 153-54, 161, 168, 285, no. 299 and refs.; see also the Metropolitan Museum web site.
Author
CHG