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"...and the whole night long swift Achilles, taking a two-handled cup in hand, drew wine from a golden bowl and poured it upon the earth...". Homer, Iliad 23.215ff.

A TROJAN SILVER DEPAS CUP

TROY, EARLY BRONZE AGE LEVEL II, CIRCA 2300 B.C.

Details

A TROJAN SILVER DEPAS CUP
TROY, EARLY BRONZE AGE LEVEL II, CIRCA 2300 B.C.
With flat base, flaring body, wide circular opening, two curving handles extending from below rim to just above base
6 in. (15 cm.) wide incl. handles; 3½ in. (9 cm.) high

Provenance

The Thétis Collection, Geneva, Switzerland; acquired prior to 1970.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

Two-handled cups of this shape were common in Early Bronze Age Level II at Troy, and were called depas cups by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) after Homer's use in the Iliad of the term depas amphikypellon in reference to a two-handled cup. For a very similar example, cf. British Museum ME 132150.

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