1884.64.4

Collection type

Object

Description

Ceramic kylix (drinking cup); Iron Age (probably 4th century BC) in date.

Long description

Red and black figure vessel in the form of a very low, flat bowl. It has squared handles, which shows a painted pattern of lotus flowers and leaves, with a stamped palmate decoration in its centre.

Geographical reference

Italy

Europe > Southern Europe > Italy

Unknown

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date / Period

Date made: 400-301 BC Archaeological period: Iron Age Etruscan

Date collected

By 1874

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Pottery, Process Handbuilt, Process Painted, Process Stamped

Dimensions

Diameter: max 232 mm, Height: max 53 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.64.4 PR Cat other PR nos: 1756

Research and responses

This object was examined by Lucy Shipley as part of the Fell funded project Characterizing the World Archaeology Collections. She described it as a red and black figure vessel in the form of a very low, flat bowl. It has squared handles, which shows a painted pattern of lotus flowers and leaves, with a stamped palmate decoration in its centre. It is suggested to be of Greek origin, but the floral decoration, particularly the lotus flowers, is more suggestive of Italian red and black ware. [AS 04/11/2010]

When this object was later seen by Dr Yannis Galanakis and Dr Stella Skaltsa they confirmed a southern Italian origin for this vessel and described it as a kylix, a type of vessel related to the storage of oils or cosmetics. They observed that in the tondo the potter had originally painted a helmeted head in profile. Today only a very faint trace of this head appears since the potter later changed his mind: he decided to decorate the tondo with impressed palmettes, a much-loved theme of the fourth century BC. [AS 06/01/2011]

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour as Figure 16.4 on page 347 of 'Iron Age and Roman Italy', by Zena Kamash, Lucy Shipley, Yannis Galanakis and Stella Skaltsa, in World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: A Characterization, edited by Dan Hicks and Alice Stevenson (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2013), pp. 336-357. Caption (same page): 'Figure 16.4 Southern Italian kylix (cup) of the 4th century BCE from the Pitt Rivers Museum founding collection (PRM Accession Number 1884.64.4) and referred to on pages 348-9. Kamash, Shipley, Galanakis and Skaltsa writes 'A south Italian kylix (1884.64.4, Figure 16.4) also revealed a nice surprise. In close examination, especially on attempting to photograph the inside of the cup, it was observed that in the tondo the potter had originally painted a helmeted head in profile. Today only a very faint trace of this head appears since the potter later changed his mind: he decided to decorate the tondo with impressed palmettes, a much-loved theme of the 4th century BCE.'. [MJD 30/06/2014]

Search terms: Vessel, Pottery, Bowl