- Museum number
- 1864,1007.104
- Description
-
Pottery: red-figured kylix.
Interior: Within a circle consisting of sets of three maeanders separated by red cross squares, a youthful athlete preparing to hurl the discos. He stands with body en face, right foot to left, and looks round to right, holding up on his right forearm the discos, which he keeps in position with his left hand. Beside him on the right is a square basis on a plinth (altar ?), on which a mantle is laid. On left in the field, KAΛOΣ, καλός. Exergue left red.
Exterior: (a) Two athletes and a paidotribes. The paidotribes stands on the right, wreathed, and closely draped in his himation, and resting his right on his forked staff. On the left a youth moves towards him, holding out in both hands halteres: in the centre stands one en face, looking at the jumper, and resting his right on two rods, probably for hurling. The central figure wears a wreath, and the jumper a fillet with a vertical piece over the forehead.
(b) Three athletes in the same relative positions. The one on the left holds up in his right a strigil, and converses with the central figure, who extends his right towards him, supporting on his bent left arm a discos, holding it on a level with his shoulder. The right hand figure rests his right on two hurling-rods, and has his left arm akimbo. On the right is a stele. All three figures wear a fillet with a vertical piece over the forehead.
Drawing fairly good. Purple is used for the head-dresses (except the wreath of the paidotribes, which is left red). Brown inner markings. Eye in developed profile, with eyelash. Beneath each handle a palmette on one inverted, from which issue tendrils terminating in leaves. The outline of hair is wavy on the interior and plain on the exterior.
- Production date
- 430BC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 22.86 centimetres
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Height: 8.89 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Attributed to Fikellura grave 260, based on evidence from Biliotti's marking on the object (grave number incised), Biliotti's Kamiros diary, Kamiros tomb list, British Museum register, departmental Kamiros index card. Description in Biliotti's Kamiros diary: Cylix red figure on red ground six human figures – naked youths one of them in the centre holding out a ball – fine style (1 broken).
Attributions to find-spots are based on (1) Alfred Biliotti’s diary kept during excavations at Kamiros between November 1863 and June 1864, which records the contents of two votive deposits and over 300 graves; (2) entries in the Museum Register, often stipulating the find-spots of individual objects excavated by Biliotti; (3) the Kamiros tomb list, produced around the same time as his entries in the Museum Register. It lists the contents of each grave and votive deposit, along with their corresponding registration numbers; (4) the Kamiros index cards, written by Donald Bailey in the 1960’s. These mainly record the contents of graves from the Fikellura cemetery and are organised according to tomb group. All archives are kept in the Department of Greece and Rome. In addition, Reynold Higgins’ Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1954) has been checked for attributions to the Fikellura cemetery.
- Location
- On display (G69/dc24)
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1995, Lausanne, Olympic Museum, Olympism in Antiquity
- Acquisition date
- 1864
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1864,1007.104
