Black-Figure Mastos Attributed to Psiax in the Getty Villa, June 2016

Title: Attic Black-Figure Mastos

Artist/Maker: Attributed to Psiax (Greek (Attic), active about 525 - 510 B.C.)

Culture: Greek (Attic)

Place: Athens, Greece (Place created)

Date: 520–500 B.C.

Medium: Terracotta

Object Number: 90.AE.122

Dimensions: 12.1 × 20.5 × 13.3 cm (4 3/4 × 8 1/16 × 5 1/4 in.)

Alternate Titles: Wine Cup with a Female Musician (Display Title)

Object Type: Mastos

A young woman plays the double flutes on this black-figure mastos or breast-shaped cup. The other side of the vase depicts a woman flourishing a branch and an ivy sprig. These attributes, as well as the nebris or animal skin that she wears over one shoulder, identify her as a maenad, a female follower of Dionysos, the god of wine.

A mastos was a drinking cup designed for use at a symposium. A relatively rare form produced by Athenian potters only in the later 500s B.C., it provided a challenge to the drinker. The nipple at the base would not have provided a stable support, and any wine within would have to be consumed before the vessel was put down.


Text from: www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/13047/attributed-to-psiax-attic-black-figure-mastos-greek-attic-520-500-bc