DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.959#0398
326 TROY AND ITS REMAINS. [Chap. XXIII.
Next came another cup of the purest gold, weighing
exactly 600 grammes (about 1 lb. 6 oz. troy) ;* it is 3£ inches
high, 7^ inches long, and 7^ inches broad ; it is in the form of
a ship with two large handles ; on one side there is a mouth,
1^ inch broad, for drinking out of, and another at the other
side, which is i\ inches broad, and, as my esteemed friend
Professor Stephanos Kumanudes, of Athens, remarks, the
person who presented the filled cup may have first drunk
from the small mouth, as a mark of respect, to let the guest
drink from the larger mouth, j" This vessel has a foot which
projects about -^ of an inch, and is 1^ inch long, and f of
an inch broad. It is assuredly the Homeric SeVas d/i.^>t-
KvireWov. But I adhere to my supposition that all of
those tall and brilliant red goblets of terra-cotta, in the form
of champagne-glasses with two enormous handles, are also
ScVa dfi^LKvireWa, and that this form probably existed in
gold also. I must further make an observation which is
very important for the history of art, that the above-
mentioned gold Sen-as a^iKvireWov is of cast gold, and
* Plate XVI., Nos. 239, 240.
t Or, as suggested in the 'Quarterly Review' for April 1874, a
person, holding the cup before him by the two handles, may have
poured a libation from the further spout and then have drunk out of the
nearer. Thus Achilles used a choice goblet (ScVas) for drinking wine
and pouring libations to the gods. (Iliad, XVI., 225-228.)
We are indebted to Mr. J. W. Lockhart for the following account
of a double-spouted boat-shaped bronze vessel, used in a similar manner
in the Chinese temples :—" In China there is a vessel of very nearly
the same shape, but with ears prolonged till they rise an inch above the
cup : the cup stands on three legs and is, in fact, a tripod. Such cups
are used in the temples, especially in the ancestral temples of the real
religion of China, when offerings are made to the manes of ancestors.
The cups are filled with wine, when placed on the altar before the idol
shrine, or before the ancestral tablet; and the wine is afterwards partly
drunk and partly poured out as a libation." Such vessels are used in
pairs, and our drawing is made from one of a pair in Mr. Lockhart s
possession. It is of bronze, 6 inches long, and 6i inches high, including
the legs. The width is 2 inches between the upright ears, and »f inches
at the broadest part. There is only one handle. Mr. Lockhart cal s
Next came another cup of the purest gold, weighing
exactly 600 grammes (about 1 lb. 6 oz. troy) ;* it is 3£ inches
high, 7^ inches long, and 7^ inches broad ; it is in the form of
a ship with two large handles ; on one side there is a mouth,
1^ inch broad, for drinking out of, and another at the other
side, which is i\ inches broad, and, as my esteemed friend
Professor Stephanos Kumanudes, of Athens, remarks, the
person who presented the filled cup may have first drunk
from the small mouth, as a mark of respect, to let the guest
drink from the larger mouth, j" This vessel has a foot which
projects about -^ of an inch, and is 1^ inch long, and f of
an inch broad. It is assuredly the Homeric SeVas d/i.^>t-
KvireWov. But I adhere to my supposition that all of
those tall and brilliant red goblets of terra-cotta, in the form
of champagne-glasses with two enormous handles, are also
ScVa dfi^LKvireWa, and that this form probably existed in
gold also. I must further make an observation which is
very important for the history of art, that the above-
mentioned gold Sen-as a^iKvireWov is of cast gold, and
* Plate XVI., Nos. 239, 240.
t Or, as suggested in the 'Quarterly Review' for April 1874, a
person, holding the cup before him by the two handles, may have
poured a libation from the further spout and then have drunk out of the
nearer. Thus Achilles used a choice goblet (ScVas) for drinking wine
and pouring libations to the gods. (Iliad, XVI., 225-228.)
We are indebted to Mr. J. W. Lockhart for the following account
of a double-spouted boat-shaped bronze vessel, used in a similar manner
in the Chinese temples :—" In China there is a vessel of very nearly
the same shape, but with ears prolonged till they rise an inch above the
cup : the cup stands on three legs and is, in fact, a tripod. Such cups
are used in the temples, especially in the ancestral temples of the real
religion of China, when offerings are made to the manes of ancestors.
The cups are filled with wine, when placed on the altar before the idol
shrine, or before the ancestral tablet; and the wine is afterwards partly
drunk and partly poured out as a libation." Such vessels are used in
pairs, and our drawing is made from one of a pair in Mr. Lockhart s
possession. It is of bronze, 6 inches long, and 6i inches high, including
the legs. The width is 2 inches between the upright ears, and »f inches
at the broadest part. There is only one handle. Mr. Lockhart cal s