Kylix (drinking cup): Satyrs and Maenads | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1972.41
People: Attributed to Makron, Greek (active 500 - 480 BCE)
Title: Kylix (drinking cup): Satyrs and Maenads
Classification: Vessels
Work Type: vessel
Date: c. 490-480 BCE
Places: Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Athens (Attica)
Period: Classical period, Early
Culture: Greek
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/287349

Location

Location: Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange

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Physical Descriptions

Medium: Terracotta
Technique: Red-figure
Dimensions: 12.2 x Diam. with handles 41.5 cm (4 13/16 x 16 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Said to come from Athens. Charles L. Morley to Frederick M. Watkins, bequest; to the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1972.

A handwritten note in the 1973 Watkins catalogue written by David Mitten quotes a March 5, 1973 letter from Dietrich von Bothmer: "not from Athens but from Vulci, since the cup is ex Canino Sale 1843, no. 172 (bought by Montfort)."

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number: Beazley Archive Database #204727

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year: 1972
Object Number: 1972.41
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description: On the interior of this cup, a maenad (female follower of Dionysos) and a satyr dance facing each other, their arms outstretched and thrown up into the air. On the left, the maenad bows her head. She is wreathed with ivy and wears a long chiton (tunic) with many creases and folds. Her bent legs are visibly outlined through the fabric, suggesting its fineness and translucence. It is tied by a thin belt with tassels painted on in red. A leopard skin, an animal sacred to Dionysos, is draped over her upraised arm. In front of her, a nude satyr dances in a similar fashion, extended his right arm (partially preserved) in front of him and his left over his head. He also wears a red wreath of ivy leaves. His beard is long and hairy. The tip of his erection points upward.

The exterior of this cup is decorated with a flurry of pursuit scenes where highly aroused satyrs attempt to court the fleeing and resistant maenads. The satyrs wear ivy wreaths, as do some of the maenads. Some of the maenads instead wear slim fillets tied around their hair. All the satyrs have leopard skins draped over their arms as they reach out in attempt to grab the maenads. All the maenads wear similar translucent chitons tied by a red belt, and two of them wear leopard skins, this time fastened at the neck. Their bodies are outlined beneath their clothing, revealing their various twists and poses as they resist the satyrs’ advances. Each carries a thyrsos, an ivy topped staff associated with Dionysos. On one side, a satyr even tries to grab the thyrsos to take it away from the maenad. On the other side, a maenad extends it in front of her, appearing to use it as a weapon against her pursuer. Behind her, a satyr caries a drinking horn, often a symbol of excessive wine consumption, which is emphasized by the wineskin hanging behind him in the background. A long-horned goat walks beneath the handle on one side, mirrored by a crawling satyr on the other, offering a humorous comparison between the satyr and the animal.
Commentary: Satyrs and maenads are frequently depicted with each other since they are both regular companions of the god Dionysos. Their interactions generally center around the satyr’s sexual pursuit of the maenad. The satyr is intended to be a comic figure in that despite his overly exaggerated sexual arousal, he is never able to satisfy his desire since he is never able to successfully capture a woman.

Publication History

The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)
Caroline Houser, Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient Through Modern, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1979), no. 5.
David Gordon Mitten and Amy Brauer, Dialogue with Antiquity, The Curatorial Achievement of George M. A. Hanfmann, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1982), p. 12, no. 21.
Thomas Carpenter, Thomas Mannack, and Melanie Mendonca, ed., Beazley addenda : additional references to ABV, ARV² & Paralipomena, Oxford University Press (UK) (Oxford, 1989), 244.
Norbert Kunisch, Makron (Mainz, 1997), 68, figs. 31.305, Pls. 101.305.
Mario Iozzo, ed., Materiali dimenticati memorie recuperate: restauri e acquisizioni nel Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi, exh. cat. (2007)

Exhibition History

The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
Dionysos and His Circle: Ancient through Modern, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/10/1979 - 02/10/1980
Dialogue with Antiquity: The Curatorial Achievement of George M.A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum, 05/07/1982 - 06/26/1982
Fragments of Antiquity: Drawing Upon Greek Vases, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/15/1997 - 12/28/1997
32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu