Arkesilas Cup
| Arkesilas Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created | c.563 BC by theArkesilas Painter |
| Discovered | before 1999 Montalto di Castro,Lazio,Italy |
| Present location | Paris,Ile-de-France,France |
TheArkesilas Cupis akylixby theLaconianvase painterknown as theArkesilas Painter,whosename vaseit is. It depicts, and is thus named after,Arkesilaos II,king ofKyrene(d. 550 BC) and is dated to about 565–560 BC.
The cup was found atVulciand is now on display in theCabinet des médaillesof theBibliothèque nationale de FranceinParis(inv. 189). It depicts Arkesilaos seated under a tent-like sheet and wearing an African hat. Because of this dress style and another vase depicting thenymphKyrenewrestling a lion, the Arkesilas Painter was initially assumed to have been active in North Africa. Later finds indicate that he was Laconian. The king is watching seven men who are packing, weighing and stacking trade goods. Added inscriptions specify their activities and the king's name. It is not clear what products or products they are loading. Some scholars suggest it issilphion,a rare plant for which Arkesilaos had a trade monopoly. His watchful stance mays support this. Several African animals underline the African location of the image.
In style and subject the painting is very unusual in Greek vase-painting. The depiction of a living political figure is extremely rare and unusual in vase painting, and images of Arekisalos II are similarly rare. For technological history, the depiction of weighing scales is of major significance, as their structure and use is shown. Historically, the production of such imagery in Laconia is also important, in that it illustrates the close links betweenSpartaand North Africa. Another vase by the same painter, depicting thenymphKyrene, patron of the city ofKyrene,in North Africa, was found on the island ofSamos,also a close ally of Sparta.
Bibliography
[edit]- John Boardman:Early Greek Vase Painting. 11th to 6th Century BC. A Handbook.Thames and Hudson, London 1998 (World of Art), p. 185–188,ISBN0-500-20309-1.
- Thomas Mannack:Griechische Vasenmalerei. Eine Einführung.Theiss, Stuttgart 2002, pp. 125–128,ISBN3-8062-1743-2.
- Barbara Patzek: Arkesilaos II, InDer Neue Pauly
- Matthias Steinhart: Arkesilas-Maler, In:Der Neue Pauly