Mastoid (Drinking Cup) (500-480 BCE): Artwork and History

Mastoid (Drinking Cup) (500-480 BCE) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Attributed to the Leafless Group Greek; Athens.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

This cup was shaped to fit easily in the drinkers hand, and was likely used as part of the Greek symposium. Much like modern academic symposiums, in which people discuss a topic of common interest, debunking old theories and putting forth new hypotheses; the men of ancient Athens regularly got together in private homes to exchange ideas. Afterward the participants might continue the conversation, discussing their impressions in greater detail or simply socializing over a drink. As the evening progressed, participants engaged in other pleasures, including games, performances, and sex. Wine played a major role in fueling these evenings, and as such the myriad vessels used in the symposium often paid homage to drink. Here, the god of wine Dionysos rides astride a donkey. Before and behind him satyrs - the gods half man half goat companions - are visually aroused by the scene; while a Maenad - their female counterpart - leads the procession while strumming a lyre. The background of this scene is decorated with winding vines, enforcing the themes of wine, revelry and music.

Object facts

• Title: Mastoid (Drinking Cup)
• Date: 500-480 BCE
• Artist attribution: Attributed to the Leafless Group Greek; Athens
• Place of origin: Italy
• Medium: terracotta, black-figure
• Dimensions: 9.2 × 10.8 × 10.8 cm (3 5/8 × 4 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
• Type: Vessel
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1889.10

Collection credit

Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.