Mastos

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Black-figure mastos, ca. 530 BC, with combat scenes (Walters Art Museum) Greek - Black-figure "Mastos" with Combat Scenes - Walters 48223 - View A.jpg
Black-figure mastos, ca. 530 BC, with combat scenes (Walters Art Museum)

A mastos (Greek, μαστός, "breast"; plural mastoi) is an ancient Greek drinking vessel shaped like a woman's breast. The type is also called a parabolic cup, and has parallel examples made of glass or silver. [1] Examples are primarily in black-figure or white ground technique, [2] though early examples may be red-figure. [3] A mastos typically has two handles and a "nipple" at the bottom, though some examples have a foot as a base instead. A mastoid cup is conical, but with a flat bottom, with or without handles. [4]

Pottery of ancient Greece ancient greek artifact made of clay

Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it, it has exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society. The shards of pots discarded or buried in the 1st millennium BC are still the best guide available to understand the customary life and mind of the ancient Greeks. There were several vessels produced locally for everyday and kitchen use, yet finer pottery from regions such as Attica was imported by other civilizations throughout the Mediterranean, such as the Etruscans in Italy. There were various specific regional varieties, such as the South Italian ancient Greek pottery.

The handles of a mastos may be paired horizontally, but they may also be arranged with one horizontal, and one vertical like the handle of a mug. The vertical handle would have facilitated drinking from the relatively deep vessel, in contrast to the more shallow kylix. Having one handle turned at a different angle may also have been a device for hanging the cup when it had the pointed base. [5]

Mug type of cup

A mug is a type of cup typically used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, hot chocolate, soup, or tea. Mugs usually have handles and hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 8-12 US fluid ounces (350 ml) of liquid; double a tea cup. A mug is a less formal style of drink container and is not usually used in formal place settings, where a teacup or coffee cup is preferred. Shaving mugs are used to assist in wet shaving.

In some archaeological contexts, the breast-like shape of the cup suggests ritual functions. Mastoi and votive representations of breasts are found as offerings (vota) at sanctuaries of deities such as Diana and Hercules, both of whom in ancient Roman religion had functions pertaining to birth, nursing, and rearing children. The dedications were sometimes made by wet nurses. [6] The breast-shaped cup may have a religious significance; the drinking of breast milk by an adult who is elderly or about to die symbolized potential rebirth in the afterlife. [7] In the Etruscan tradition, the goddess Juno (Uni) offers her breast to Hercules as a sign that he may enter the ranks of the immortals. [8]

<i>Votum</i>

In ancient Roman religion, a votum, plural vota, is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb voveo, vovere, "vow, promise". As the result of this verbal action, a votum is also that which fulfills a vow, that is, the thing promised, such as offerings, a statue, or even a temple building. The votum is thus an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion, a bargaining expressed by do ut des, "I give that you might give."

Diana (mythology) goddess of the hunt, the moon and birthing, equated with the Greek goddess Artemis

Diana is a Roman goddess of the hunt, the Moon, and nature, associated with wild animals and woodland. She is equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, and absorbed much of Artemis' mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona, and a twin brother, Apollo, though she had an independent origin in Italy.

Hercules Roman adaptation of the Greek divine hero Heracles

Hercules is a Roman hero and god. He was the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.

See also

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Kylix ancient greek or etruscan drinking cup

In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot and usually two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The main alternative wine-cup shape was the kantharos, with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles.

Krater type of vessel from Ancient Greece

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Skyphos ancient greek vase shape; drinking cup

A skyphos is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim, or they may be loop handles at the rim or that stand away from the lower part of the body. Skyphoi of the type called glaux (owl) have one horizontal and one vertical thumbhold handle.

Kantharos type of Greek pottery

A kantharos or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In its iconic "Type A" form, it is characterized by its deep bowl, tall pedestal foot, and pair of high-swung handles which extend above the lip of the pot. The Greek words kotylos and kotyle are other ancient names for this same shape.

Niobid Painter painter and vase painter

The Niobid Painter was an ancient Athenian vase painter in the red figure style who was active from approximately 470 to 450 BC. He is named after a calyx krater which shows the god Apollo and his sister Artemis killing the children of Niobe who were collectively called the Niobids. The krater is known as the Niobid Krater and is now housed at the Louvre in Paris. In his other work he shows a preference for Amazonomachy scenes and three-quarter-view faces. His student Polygnotos continued his style of vase painting.

Nikosthenes Ancient Greek potter and entrepreneur

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White ground technique style of decorated ancient pottery

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Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, circa 900 BC – 700 BC. Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the trading cities of the Aegean. The Greek Dark Ages are also called the Geometric period in reference to this characteristic pottery style, although the historical period is much longer than the art-historical period, being circa 1100 – 800 BC. The vases had various uses or purposes within Greek society, including, but not limited to, funerary vases and symposium vases.

Typology of Greek vase shapes Wikimedia list article

The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic era. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest expression" in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, yet it has been possible to date vases thanks to the variation in a form’s shape over time, a fact particularly useful when dating unpainted or plain black-gloss ware.

Etruscan art

Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. From around 600 BC it was heavily influenced by Greek art, which was imported by the Etruscans, but always retained distinct characteristics. Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative sculpture in terracotta, wall-painting and metalworking especially in bronze. Jewellery and engraved gems of high quality were produced.

Pan Painter

The Pan Painter was an ancient Greek vase-painter of the Attic red-figure style, probably active c. 480 to 450 BCE. John Beazley attributed over 150 vases to his hand in 1912:

"Cunning composition; rapid motion; quick deft draughtsmanship; strong and peculiar stylisation; a deliberate archaism, retaining old forms, but refining, refreshing, and galvanizing them; nothing noble or majestic, but grace, humour, vivacity, originality, and dramatic force: these are the qualities which mark the Boston krater, and which characterize the anonymous artist who, for the sake of convenience, may be called the 'master of the Boston Pan-vase', or, more briefly, 'the Pan-master'."

Regina Vasorum

The Regina Vasorum or Queen of Vases is a 4th-century BC hydria from Cumae depicting Eleusinian divinities with gilded flesh in polychrome relief. It is held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. In addition to its aesthetic qualities, it is valued as an iconographical source for ancient Greek religion.

Eye-cup ancient Greek pottery cup with pairs of eyes (thought to be apotropaic) painted on the external surface in silhouette style with a short squat foot, widespread in Athens and Chalkis in the latter half of 6th century BCE

Eye-cup is the term describing a specific cup type in ancient Greek pottery, distinguished by pairs of eyes painted on the external surface. Classified as kylikes in terms of shape, they were especially widespread in Athens and Chalkis in the second half of the sixth century BC. The bowl of the eye-cup rests on a short squat foot; both sides are dominated by large painted pairs of eyes under arched eyebrows. The eyeballs are painted in silhouette style, later often filled with white paint or painted white on black. Some eyes are “female”, i.e. almond-shaped and without tear-ducts. Often, a stylized nose is placed centrally between the eyes. While used as a drinking vessel, due to the necessary inclination of the vessel, the cup with its painted eyes, the handles looking like ears and the base of the foot like a mouth, would have resembled a mask. Many of the vases also bear dionysiac imagery. The eyes are assumed to have served an apotropaic (evil-averting) function.

Little Masters (Greek vase painting) group of potters and vase painters who produced vases of the Attic black-figure style featuring well-done figures in miniature

The Little masters were a group of potters and vase painters who produced vases of the Attic black-figure style featuring well-done figures in miniature. They were active in Athens approximately 560 — 530 BC. They mainly produced Little-master cups: lip cups, band cups and droop cups, but were not entirely limited to such shapes. The group includes:

Mastos Painter ancient Greek vase painter in the 6th century BCE

The Mastos Painter was a painter of ancient Greek vases. He is named for a black-figure mastos used by the art historian John Boardman to illustrate the type, which is shaped like a woman's breast.

Ancient Greek funeral and burial practices

Ancient Greek funerary practices are attested widely in the literature, the archaeological record, and the art of ancient Greece. Finds associated with burials are an important source for ancient Greek culture, though Greek funerals are not as well documented as those of the ancient Romans.

Beth Cohen is an American classical archaeologist. She studied under German-American art historian Dietrich von Bothmer at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University where she received her doctorate on bilingual vase painting of Ancient Greece. Her dissertation, Attic Bilingual Vases and their Painters is the main book used in the study of bilingual vase painting. Cohen became a specialist in the field of Greek vase painting, especially on rare forms of Attic vase painting. She organized the 2006 exhibition The colors of clay. Special techniques in Athenian vases at J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu.

References

  1. ↑ Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery. Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1, The Athenian Agora 29 (1997), pp. 109–110 (see note 107 on the imprecision of nomenclature) and 276.
  2. ↑ Andrew J. Clark, Maya Elston, and Mary Louise Hart, Understanding Greek Vases: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques (Getty Publications, 2002), p. 116.
  3. ↑ Beth Cohen, "Oddities of Very Early Red-figure and a New Fragment at the Getty," in Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Getty Publications, 1989), vol. 4, p. 80.
  4. ↑ Clark, Elston, and Hart, Understanding Greek Vases, p. 116.
  5. ↑ Cohen, "Oddities," in Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum, vol. 4, p. 80.
  6. ↑ Celia E. Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic (University of North Carolina Press, 2006), pp. 54, 68, 101, 115; John G. Younger, Sex in the Ancient World from A to Z (Routledge, 2005), p. 36.
  7. ↑ Anthony Corbeill, Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome (Princeton University Press, 2004), pp. 101–103; Fritz Graf and Sarah Iles Johnston, Ritual Texts for the Afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets (Routledge, 2007), pp. 128–129. Perhaps also a reference to the "Milky Way" as a path to the heavens.
  8. ↑ Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2006), pp. 83–84.
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