Ca. 520-450 BC. Greek Attic. A beautiful black-figure Attic kylix, i.e. a wide-bowled drinking cup with a large, black glazed low foot and twin horizontal handles. The tondo depicts a graceful black-figure swan with a long beak, thin legs, and an elegant body. In ancient Greek mythology, the swan is usually associated with Leda, the daughter of Thestius, king of Aetolia, and wife of Tyndareus, king of Lacedaemon. According to the legend, Zeus approached and seduced Leda in the form of a swan; as a result, she gave birth to Pollux and Helen of Troy, who both hatched from eggs (Armstrong 1944, 58). This kylix is a stunning example of Attic black-figure painting - a painting technique from the Archaic period. In black-figure vase painting, figural and ornamental motifs were applied with a slip that turned black during firing, while the background was left the colour of the clay. Vase painters articulated individual forms by incising the slip or by adding white and purple enhancements (mixtures of pigment and clay). Between the beginning of the sixth and the end of the fourth century BC, black- and red-figure techniques were used in Athens to decorate fine pottery. The red-figure technique was invented around 530 BC, quite possibly by the potter Andokides and his workshop, and gradually replaced the black-figure technique. Kýlikes like this fine example were one of the most popular forms in ancient Greek pottery from Mycenaean times through the classical Athenian period and were used during banquets (symposia) as drinking cups. See Armstrong, E. (1944). The Symbolism of the Swan and the Goose. Folklore, 55/2: 54-58 for the swan symbolism. For a similar piece, see https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-an-attic-black-figured-kylix-circa-520-500-bc-5609671/?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5609671.Size: L:55mm / W:270mm ; 535g. Provenance: Ex. Collection H.G., Rhineland-Palatinate, collection acquired between 1970-1999; ex. Art for Eternity.