Attic Black-Figure Eye CupAn ancient Greek Attic black-figure eye cup, a wine vessel. On each side a large nude Herakles strides forward with his club raised above his head. He is flanked by two large eyes. Athens. Ca. 520 BC. The eyes on these cups served an apotropaic function, to ward off danger. They also served a more playful function. When the partygoer at a symposium raised his cup at an angle to drink. The eyes became part of a bovine face, the handles being the ears, and the foot the snout. Published: H. & M. Munsterberg, World Ceramics - from Prehistoric to Modern Times, (1998), p.36, fig. 26. Formerly in the Jean-Marie Talleux collection, Grand Fort Philippe, France. Inv#: 4191 $17,500 Guaranteed Authentic |
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