Red-Figure Kylix (Drinking Cup): Dionysos and Satyr (I); Satyrs and Maenads (A, B) (c. 480 BCE): Art, History and Details

Red-Figure Kylix (Drinking Cup): Dionysos and Satyr (I); Satyrs and Maenads (A, B) (c. 480 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Douris (Greek, Attic, active c. 500–470 BCE); Painter of London E 55.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Reconstructed from 72 fragments, this cup has been repaired several times, indicating its enduring value to owners. Pairs of holes straddling cracks once held ancient wire or clamp repairs. Numerous incomplete holes may signify recent interventions. Early modern efforts to hide cracks and certain features of the satyrs that could have offended sensibilities of the time also masked the original artistry of its painting. So, for many years the cup languished in storage. Cleaning and reconstruction in 1952–53 revealed enough to allow attribution to a respected vase painter, Douris, reviving the cup’s reputation. More recently, a different attribution has been suggested, and a new conservation campaign replaced ancient parts from a different cup with modern reconstructions more like those lost.

Object facts

• Title: Red-Figure Kylix (Drinking Cup): Dionysos and Satyr (I); Satyrs and Maenads (A, B)
• Date: c. 480 BCE
• Creator attribution: Douris (Greek, Attic, active c. 500–470 BCE); Painter of London E 55
• Culture: Greece, Athens
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: ceramic
• Dimensions: Diameter: 29.6 cm (11 5/8 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1915.718

A detail from the museum

In the tondo, a dancing satyr approaches the wine god Dionysos, who holds a kantharos and grapevine.

Collection credit

Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Beazley Archive. n.d. Beazley Archive Pottery Database. Oxford: Beazley Archive.
• Lee, Sherman E. "A Cup by Douris." American Journal of Archaeology 58, no. 3 (1954): 230, pll. 41-42.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.