A Persianizing Cup from Lydia

The kantharoid-cup examined here may serve as an examplar of the various currents which are evident in the pottery producing traditions of archaic Lydia. Although our knowledge of Lydian pottery is still in great need of enrichment features derived from other regions are apparent in finds made in the Sardis area, and beyond. The kantharoid cup is clearly decorated in a manner firmly anchored in archaic Lydian practice, but ultimately derived from an East Greek source. Its shape, however, is borrowed from eastern traditions, specially – as realia and iconographic representations show – from the Achaemenid repertoire. It is in this context, as an item of emulation of élite practice, that the adoption of this particular shape in Lydia is best understood.