Drinking Cup (Kylix): Battle Between Athena and a Giant
Artist/Culture
Greek
Date500s BCE
Mediumceramic
Dimensions12.7 x 34.6 cm (5 x 13 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineLent by the Republic of Italy
Terms
Object numberE.53.24.2
DescriptionFrom vicinity of Athens; Eye Kylix. Black figure style. Pottery, glazed. Red, white, and black.Label TextOn both sides of this drinking cup, the warrior goddess Athena battles a giant, flanked by an enormous pair of stylized eyes. Such "eye cups" were popular in the second half of the 6th century BCE. The painted eyes might have been intended to ward off evil, but they also gave the cup a mask-like quality when it was tipped to the drinker's lips. To onlookers, the cup's underside appears as a face with painted eyes, the handles in the position of ears, and the circular base as a gaping mouth.ProvenanceThis kylix was formerly part of the Worcester Art Museum’s permanent collection (accession no. 1956.91). The Museum acquired it in 1956 in Switzerland from Elie Borowski [1913-2003], an art historian, collector, and dealer. At the same time, the Museum purchased from Borowski a black-figure amphora attributed to the Rycroft Painter (E.53.24.1, formerly accession no. 1956.83). In 2024, provenance research undertaken at the Museum traced both vases back to the American dealer Robert Hecht [1919-2012]. Hecht is now known to have dealt extensively in looted antiquities from Italy during the 1950s through 1970s. Based on this information, the Worcester Art Museum brought both objects to the attention of Italian authorities, who confirmed their illicit origins. As a result, in December 2024, the Museum agreed to a voluntary restitution of the vases to Italy and deaccessioned them from its collection. The return was made as part of a new Cultural Cooperation Agreement between the Museum and the Italian Ministry of culture—the first of its kind for the Worcester Art Museum. The agreement allows the Museum to keep the vases on display as loans before returning them to Italy in exchange for long-term loans of comparable objects from Italian museums.
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 215
