Terracotta Mastoid in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2011

Title: Terracotta mastoid (drinking cup with narrow base)

Medium; Technique: Terracotta; black-figure

Culture: Greek, Attic

Period: Archaic

Date: ca. 500 B.C.

Dimensions: H. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); diameter 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); width with handles 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)

Classification: Vases

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1941

Accession Number: 41.162.173


Description:
Obverse, between eyes, seated youth with branches
Reverse, between eyes, nose

The mastoid is a variant of the skyphos characterized by the breast-like shape, which provides its name. The eyes on either side reflect a predilection in Attic vase-painting between about 540 and 500 B.C. While their meaning has not been conclusively established, they certainly have to do with the insights afforded by the consumption of wine and its perils. Mastoids are among the vases for drinking imported into Etruria in large numbers.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...