Vase Catalog Number: Mississippi 1977.3.68

Decoration:

On Side A, two armed warriors fight between spectators. The warriors are naked except for greaves and a Corinthian helmet. Each warrior has a sword at his waist, and brandishes a spear and a round shield. The shield device of the warrior on the right is a tripod. The spectators, four on the left and three on the right, are alternately naked and draped. On Side B, there is a similar composition with two boxers fighting in the middle of a crowd of spectators. The boxer on the left is older and bearded. Both boxers are naked and their hands and wrists are wrapped in leather thongs for protection. The treatment of the nine spectators is the same as on Side A. The tondo on the interior of the cup carries a naked youth running to the right and looking back over his shoulder.

Siana cups follow two systems of decoration. The "overlap" system treats the body and the offset lip as a single decorative zone. This is the system seen on the Mississippi cup, and is the earliest type of decoration for Siana cups. A "double-decker" system, which treats the body and the lip as separate zones, appears later in the workshop of the C Painter.

Collection History:

Once in the Robinson collection. Harvard Inv. no. 148.

Shape Description:

The Siana cup develops from the Komast cup. The basic changes being a higher lip and foot. The shape appears to have been created circa 575 by the C Painter, and it continues in use until circa 525.

Sources Used:

CVA, Robinson I, pl. 20; Brijder 1983

(Anne Harrison)