Stemless Kylix (c. 200s BCE): Art, History and Details

Stemless Kylix (c. 200s BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Constructed out of a double shell of silver attached at the rim of the vessel, this shallow cup is an elegant example of Greek silversmithing. A pair of wishbone handles, one on each side of the cup, are decorated with leaves at their base and poppy flowers on top. A small, pointed dimple projects from the center of the interior. Originally, this cup would have been used as a drinking vessel during banquets.

Object facts

• Title: Stemless Kylix
• Date: c. 200s BCE
• Culture: Greece
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: silver
• Dimensions: Diameter: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.); Overall: 6.1 x 18.2 cm (2 3/8 x 7 3/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1977.166

A detail from the museum

Poppies and their derivative, opium, were used in the ancient Mediterranean as an analgesic and to treat insomnia.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Max Ratner

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.

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.