Reproduction of a Gold Kylix from Shaft Grave I from Grave Circle A at Mycenae

Inscriptions

Stamped Bottom: Athene/E. Gillieron

Label

These cups are reproductions of objects excavated from tholos (beehive) tombs in northeastern Greece near Mycenae. The ancient Greek city was popularly linked with Homer’s epics and believed to prove the events of the Trojan War. The original cups were decorated using repoussé, a metalworking technique through which a thin sheet of metal is hammered from one side to produce a raised design. The Vapheio cups feature two different methods of capturing bulls for ritual or sacrifice, while the kylix depicts a ring of running lions.

As the excavated objects made their way into museums and private collections, enterprising artists like Louis Emile Emmanuel Gillieron used modern technology to provide reproductions to the curious public. Gillieron was one of the first to use electro-typing to create visually identical copies of original artifacts. The reproduction cups in this case were purchased as souvenirs by New Englanders in the early 20th century and served to remind the travelers of both the ancient past and their voyages abroad.

From the 2025 exhibition Stone, Sand, and Clay: Connecting Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean, curated by Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

CLST 20, Greek Prehistoric Archaeology: The Emergence of Civilization in the Aegean , Julie Hruby, Fall 2013

ARTH 11.01, Art in Ancient Greece, Ada Cohen, Fall 2019

CLST 20, Prehistoric Greek Archaeology, Julie Hruby, Fall 2019

Classical Studies 20.01, Greek Archaeology: First Hominids to Mycenean Palaces, Julie Hruby, Spring 2023

Exhibition History

Stone, Sand, and Clay: Connecting Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 7, 2025 - Ongoing

Provenance

Collected by Esther Fisher Hallowell [Morse] (1881-1946) and Susan Morris Hallowell [Brooks] (1883-1981) on a family trip to Greece in 1906; to Ann Brooks Carter [Susan's daughter], Hanover, New Hampshire; given to present collection, 2007.

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Subjects