Kyathos

As a short, wide vessel with a tall looped handle, a kyathos was used as a ladle for serving wine out of a krater. From the base, a ring of sharp, raised bosses broadens to create the bowl of the vessel, crowned by a wide lip that flares out at the rim. The lip is decorated with incised geometric patterns; two horizontal bands frame a chevron pattern that is delicately stippled into the surface. Further lines are stippled vertically on the interior of the lip where the handle starts. The handle curves sharply, narrowing in the middle. It is also decorated with stippled, radiating lines that form a series of triangles. A cylindrical strut attaches the handle to the bowl of the vessel. This kyathos was repaired from large fragments.

The Etruscans were a confederation of city-states in central Italy during the 7th-3rd centuries BCE. In addition to their notability as a maritime power, the Etruscans are also known for their bucchero, a style of pottery that was produced between the 7th and the 5th centuries BCE. It is black inside and out due to the reducing atmosphere during the firing process that prevented oxidation. Bucchero vessels are made on a wheel, and the forms often imitate contemporary impasto and metalware. When polished, the effect of bucchero’s black surfaces can even resemble oxidized silver.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.