Vaphio mug
As Vaphio cup ( Greek Κύπελλο τύπου Βαφειού ) or Keftiu cup are Mycenaean and Minoan designated drinking vessels. The oldest specimens come from the Middle Helladic (MH II, 1900–1700 BC) and from the Middle Minoan period (MM III, 1900–1700 BC) and remained until the Late Helladic (SH II, 1500–1400 BC) .) in use.
designation
At first the cups were only known from wall paintings in Egyptian tombs from the 18th dynasty (15th century BC). These include the grave TT71 of Senenmut , TT131 of Useramun , TT100 of Rechmire and TT86 of Mencheperreseneb . Here, processions of bearers are depicted who bring tributes from foreign countries to the Pharaoh . Since the porters who carried the cups were thought to be Minoans or Mycenaeans, they were eventually called Keftiu cups with the ancient Egyptian name for this ethnic group .
In 1888, two gold cups were discovered during excavations in the Tholos tomb of Vaphio . After the gold cups from Vaphio , similar cups have been called Vaphio cups since then.
description
Vaphio beakers have a flat bottom and straight or convex sides and a handle. They were made of gold, silver and especially clay . The metal vessels were artistically decorated with patterns or images. The handles were round or consisted of two sheets of metal attached to the cup on top of each other, which were connected by a metal cylinder. Some specimens were driven from several sheets of metal . This can be seen from a bulge that runs around halfway up the vessel. At this point the two sheets were connected.
Ceramic Vaphio mugs are matt painted , either in a dark-on-light or light-on-dark style. Frequent ones are linear, leaf-like or spiral patterns painted on, garlands, waves, ivy leaves, rosettes, tortoiseshell or lilies are less common . The bottom is often decorated with a circle, a cross in a circle or a spiral. Some specimens seem to imitate metal vessels, because they also have a circumferential bulge and there is a bulge under the handle that is reminiscent of a rivet with which the handle was attached.
Web links
literature
- Carl Blegen : Korakou: a prehistoric settlement near Corinth , Boston and New York 1921, pp. 40–41, 48 ( online )
- Maria Kyritsi: Το «κύπελλο τύπου Κεφτιού» στη Ζάκρο: ένα εξωγενές στοιχείο με χροναλογική σημασία; ( online ; PDF, 1.9 MB)