Kylix by Makron (Attic, Late Archaic, c. 490–480 BCE) — Study Notes

Drinking cup (kylix) by Makron
Greek Late Archaic Period, about $490\text{–}480\ \mathrm{B.C.}$
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique: Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions:
- Height: $12.8\ \mathrm{cm}$
- Diameter: $33.2\ \mathrm{cm}$
- In inches: $5\ \tfrac{1}{16}\ \mathrm{in.}$ (height) and $13\ \tfrac{1}{16}\ \mathrm{in.}$ (diameter)
Credit Line: Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number: $01.8022$
On View: Ancient Greece: Dionysos & Symposium Gallery (Gallery 215B)
Collections: Ancient Greece and Rome
Classifications: Vessels; Kylikes — shallow, footed cups with two handles, used for drinking wine; among the most common painted vessels from ancient Athens, indicating the importance of wine in Athenian culture
Context: Used at drinking parties called symposia; kylikes often depict scenes from these events

Tondo (interior) centers on a bearded man reclining on a couch (kline) beside a low table; he holds a kylix in one hand and reaches toward a standing woman who tugs his beard in a gesture of supplication, signaling the woman’s inferior status
Exterior sides (A and B) show groups of men and women interacting, suggesting a symposium setting that could be large and rowdy; the interior moment is intimate, but the exterior scenes indicate broader social interaction around the same event
Symposia in ancient Athens: social gatherings with drinking, conversation, music, dancing, and sometimes erotic entertainment
Plato’s Symposion: describes an educated male group (including Socrates) debating the true form of love; notable for excluding women from the dialogue
Women in symposiums:
- In classical texts, ordinary women were not allowed to attend normally all-male symposia
- Hetairai: trained entertainers who could attend and entertain; they did not recline at the meal with men
Functional implications of the cup’s imagery:
- Despite the ostensibly chaste depiction in the tondo, the overall scene signals erotic entertainment
- The imagery reflects elite Athenian male sexual privilege and social dynamics at symposia
Catalogue Raisonné references: Caskey-Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings (MFA), no. 141; Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 126

Bearded, wreathed man reclines on a kline with a striped cushion
He wears a himation (cloak) draped around him
Small table beside him
He holds a kylix in one hand and gestures with the other
A standing woman before him reaches out to touch his face
Context note: ordinary women typically could not attend such events; hired female entertainers (hetairai) were common

Scene centers on a seated woman gesturing toward a bearded man
She holds a mirror and a flower
To the left, a woman gestures to a youth
The youth appears taken with the seated woman
To the right: a woman talking to a young man with a traveling hat and walking stick (not shown in the photo)

Scene features six paired figures (two on the far right not visible in the photo)
From the left: a standing woman converses with a bearded man seated on an elaborate stool
In the middle: another woman talking to a standing bearded man
On the right: a woman converses with a beardless youth
Gesture motifs: many figures gesture as if to embrace, indicating intimate or erotic undertones within a social context

Condition: Somewhat broken
Provenance:
- By date unknown: Alfred Bourguignon Collection
- By 1901: purchased by Edward Perry Warren from Alfred Bourguignon (per Warren’s records: Bourguignon label on vase indicates Orvieto)
- MFA purchase: from Edward Perry Warren, December 1901
Page metadata references: 8/21/25, 8:19 PM; page 1/2 (photos) and subsequent pages showing interior/exterior views

Accession Number: $01.8022$
Museum/Collection: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
On View Location: MFA, Ancient Greece and Rome collections
Object Type: Drinking cup (kylix)
Painter: Makron
Medium: Ceramic, Red Figure
Classification notes: Kylikes; drinking vessels used in symposia
Dimensions (summary): $H = 12.8\ \mathrm{cm},\ Ø = 33.2\ \mathrm{cm}$
Notable measurements in inches:
- Height: $5\ \tfrac{1}{16}\ \mathrm{in.}$
- Diameter: $13\ \tfrac{1}{16}\ \mathrm{in.}$

Kylikes as common Athenian drinking vessels; their iconography reveals social norms around wine, men’s leisure, and sexual politics in elite circles
The symposium as a social institution where hierarchy and gender roles were performed and negotiated
The presence of hetairai in symposium imagery reflects the intersection of entertainment, sexuality, and class privileges in ancient Athens
The use of red-figure technique situates the piece within the broader stylistic developments of Attic vase painting in the late 6th to 5th centuries BCE

Catalogue Raisonné: Caskey-Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings (MFA), no. 141
MFA Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 126
Interior/Exterior cross-references reflect the typical program of symposium scenes in Attic red-figure ware

Kylix: shallow, footed drinking cup with two handles
Kline: reclining couch used in symposium scenes
Himation: cloak worn over himation, common in vase imagery
Hetairai: educated female entertainers who performed at symposia
Red-figure technique: painting technique used on the cup
Symposion: Athenian drinking party with discussion, music, dance, and erotic entertainment
Tondo: central interior circle/panel of a kylix

Period: $490\text{–}480\ \mathrm{B.C.}$ (Late Archaic)
Place: Attica, Athens, Greece
Accession: $01.8022$ ; Fund: Henry Lillie Pierce
Location in MFA Gallery: Ancient Greece and Rome; Dionysos & Symposium Gallery (215B)
Dimensions: $H = 12.8\ \mathrm{cm},\ D = 33.2\ \mathrm{cm}$
Additional page notes: side view references and label inscriptions (Side A: 61-8022, 1106; Side B: LUGE; Page 6 shows Side view 2)

This kylix by Makron is a late Archaic Attic red-figure vessel depicting a symposium scene with intimate interior imagery and social exterior scenes, reflecting gender dynamics, erotic entertainment, and elite male privilege in ancient Athens
The interior scene presents a private moment of interaction between a bearded man and a standing woman who touches his face, signaling power dynamics and erotic undertones; exterior scenes suggest a broader social context with women and youths engaging in conversation and flirtation
The piece is tied to literary and cultural texts like Plato’s Symposion, which helps explain the gender restrictions and the social functions of such vessels
Provenance and cataloging indicate the MFA’s acquisition in 1901 and the work’s inclusion in standard reference works for Attic vase painting

Object: DrinKing cup (kylix) by Makron
Period: Late Archaic (~ $490\text{–}480\ \mathrm{B.C.}$ )
Material/Technique: Ceramic, Red Figure
Size: $H=12.8\ \mathrm{cm},\ D=33.2\ \mathrm{cm}$
Function: Drinkingware for symposiums; imagery reflects social and erotic dimensions of elite Athenian life
Provenance: Bourguignon Collection → Warren → MFA (1901)
Reference: MFA, no. 01.8022; Caskey-Beazley no. 141; Highlights p.126