Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
W. Hornbostel, Kunst der Antike - Schätze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Mainz, 1977, cat. no. 267.
The symposiast shown here is playing kottabos, a popular after-dinner game. To play, a participant would recline on his left elbow, and try to flick the last drops of wine from the bottom of his kylix held in his right hand across the room to hit a target - often something perched on a stand, or another reveller's cup. Here, the hanging bowl to the left of the scene is probably the target.
W. Hornbostel, Kunst der Antike - Schätze aus norddeutschem Privatbesitz, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Mainz, 1977, cat. no. 267.
The symposiast shown here is playing kottabos, a popular after-dinner game. To play, a participant would recline on his left elbow, and try to flick the last drops of wine from the bottom of his kylix held in his right hand across the room to hit a target - often something perched on a stand, or another reveller's cup. Here, the hanging bowl to the left of the scene is probably the target.