The drinking bowl, created by the potter and vase painter Exekias around 530 BC, is one of the most famous antique pots of all - and without a doubt one of the most beautiful and important.
Inside you can see Dionysos, the god of wine, lying on a ship with a white sail. At the mast vines climb up and dolphins surround the ship. The viewer should be reminded of a well-known myth of the god: Dionysus had been captured by Etruscan pirates and taken to their ship. On the high seas, however, God appeared to the men in his true form, after which they were panicked and plunged into the sea and transformed into dolphins by Dionysus.
Whoever drank from this bowl had a special experience: for him, the god emerged from the sea of red wine, swam on the waves for a brief moment and then drove his ship into the open mouth. The collier took up the God directly in himself and he could feel the effect of the wine and the God just as directly. The bowl was therefore not only a complex drinking vessel. Through each use, one came a little closer to the god Dionysos personally.
Exekias was well aware of the outstanding quality of his vessel. He signed the work proudly on the outside of the rim of the vessel foot: Exekias epoese - Exekias did it.
(text taken from the corresponding page of the Collection of Classical Antiquities Munich.
Exekias (545-520 B. C.) is generally considered to be the most complete man of the black-figured style, culminating in his works. His importance lies not only in his mastery as a vase painter, but also in his high-quality and innovative pottery. He signed twelve of his preserved vessels as a potter, two as painters and potters.
Hand-painted replica as reduction, 16.3 cm diameter, 4.2 cm height. A seal on the handle bears the inscription "MUSEUM COPY", reverse side "HAND MADE IN GREECE".
This Kylix is also available with a diameter of 26.5 cm for € 149.-.
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