RE-IDENTIFYING THE KYME HYDRIA: NEW IDEAS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF ITS TYPOLOGY, DATE AND ORIGIN
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Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Inst Classical Stud Acad Sci Czech Republic
Access Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Abstract
Ancient hydriai made from bronze or other precious materials occupy an important place within the field of toreutic studies. These vessels, in addition to their principal purpose of holding liquids, were also preferred as containers for the ashes of the deceased, and so were placed in the graves of ancient Greeks in significant quantities mostly in the Archaic period but also in the Classical. Present-day Turkey, ancient Asia Minor, has supplied a vast assemblage of a range of toreutic vessels from various eras of antiquity. In 2012 a new addition was made to this assemblage with the discovery of an exceptional bronze hydria in the necropolis of the ancient Aeolian city of Kyme. Carefully produced and richly adorned with a relief plaquette of Dionysos and Silenus, this vessel was first published several years after its discovery. However, it has yet to receive a full treatment, including a detailed comparison with other examples. This paper aims to rectify this situation by re-identifying the Kyme hydria through a wide-ranging study. Firstly, the vessel will be re-evaluated in terms of its find context, including assessment of the other finds recovered from the same tomb. There follows a detailed typological analysis in which analogies are drawn with contemporary metal vessels. This will help both to challenge the previously suggested use, production technique and date and to identify the possible origin of this vessel. Last but not least, comments are made on how this exceptional hydria might have found its way to Kyme and the significance of this within the wider world of Greek toreutics.
Description
Keywords
Kyme, hydria, Dionysos, Silenus, late 4th century BC
Journal or Series
Eirene-Studia Graeca Et Latina
WoS Q Value
N/A
Scopus Q Value
Q3
Volume
57
