Open daily. Always free.
Wine Cup (Kylix) with Gorgon Head (interior) and a Warrior, Athena, and Hermes (exterior)

Wine Cup (Kylix) with Gorgon Head (interior) and a Warrior, Athena, and Hermes (exterior)

Unknown

On the exterior between the apotropaic eyes to ward off evil, Athena wears a high-crested Athenian helmet and holds a spear. Behind her Hermes walks off but looks back. The small figure at Athena’s feet is probably Cassandra, the prophetic daughter of King Priam of Troy. The warrior facing Athena may represent the Ajax, Greek hero in the Trojan War. The interior show a Gorgon head, an ancient Greek demon with staring eyes, often with snakes for hair, and sometimes boars’ tusks for teeth—not a good character to meet.
Artist
Unknown (Greek, Attic)
Title
Wine Cup (Kylix) with Gorgon Head (interior) and a Warrior, Athena, and Hermes (exterior)
Date
ca. 520 B.C.E.
Medium
Earthenware with black-figure decoration
Dimensions
4 3/8 H x 14 diam. in. overall
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Frank
Accession No.
1985.97
Classification
Ceramics
Geography
Greece

Related

Unknown date, unknown private collection (Switzlerand) [not confirmed]; 17 December 1977, sold by Summa Galleries, Inc. (Beverly Hills, CA) to Arthur J. and Edith Fairchild Frank (Hartland, WI); 1977, deposited on long-term loan by Arthur J. and Edith Fairchild Frank (Hartland, WI) at the Elvehjem Art Center [now called Chazen Museum of Art]; 1985, gifted by Arthur J. and Edith Fairchild Frank (Hartland, WI) to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]. [Last researched by Chazen staff 26 January 2022]

  • "SchoolsMusuemsART (SMART) Project." Madison, WI: Madison Metropolitan School District, 2002.
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Ancient Etruscan and Greek Vases in the Elvehjem Museum of Art." University of Wisconsin Regents. Madison, Wis., 2000. pp. 20, 49, no. 30; pl. 4
  • University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. "The Classical World: Aegean Art." Art History Image Search, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Online. Mar 7, 2003. <http://facstaff.uww.edu/henigec/imagesearch/index.htm>;
  • Moon, Warren G, and Louise Berge. "Greek Vase-painting In Midwestern Collections." Chicago: The Art Institute, 1979. pp. 102-103, no. 59
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Annual Report 1985-1986." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1986. p. 51
  • Mangold, Meret. "Kassandra in Athen." Berlin: Reimer, 2000. no. 43
  • Powell, Barry B. "Classical Myth, Fourth Edition." Prentice Hall, 2003. p. 54, no. 3.4
  • Classical Art Research Centre. University of Oxford. "Beazley Archive Pottery Database.": https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/15C4DFC7-A331-40D0-A229-45EA534D7F1D. no. 5189

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name*