komast cup
A cup with a flaring foot; low conical stem meeting the rounded bowl at a sharp angle; short, offset lip. Decoration is as follows: handle, black; stem, black; foot, black with reserved edge; interior decoration, plain black. History: It has been suggested that the cups of the komast group might have a forerunner in the earlier Attic Geometric shape (a shallow cup with an offset lip and without a stem), but this type seems to have died out long before. It seems more likely that Attic potters borrowed and adapted the shape from Corinth. The decoration, too, is different. The dancing Komasts, which decorate this cup and give the cup its name, are a Corinthian feature; they appear on the Corinthian skyphoi, but not on the Corinthian cup; often the Corinthian cup has a gorgoneion inside, whereas the Komast cup is always painted black on the interior. The "komasts," or revellers, decorating the cups are the earliest of the countless revellers depicted on Attic vases. Usually in groups of three, at first they are shown wearing a padded chiton; later they appear naked and sometimes are joined by short-skirted females. Term: The cup takes its name from the decoration, which usually consists of "komasts," or revellers. The Komast cup is the earliest Attic cup to which the term "Kylix" can properly be applied.