Why did they end up there? The role of iconography in the distribution, purchase and use of Siana cups

Abstract

It is a common assumption in Greek pottery studies that purchasers often selected pots because of the images they show. Although clear individual examples exist, it has never been possible to prove this assumption on a more general level. It is, indeed, impossible to prove it, as long as we have no reliable overall picture of the distribution of pots showing specific images over the Mediterranean. In the meantime, however, the compact but not too small dataset provided by Herman Brijder’s catalogues of Siana cups, may offer some relevant preliminary evidence. By taking painters, provenances, find contexts, and iconography of cups as main relevant factors in their distribution, and by looking at the connections between those factors, I will try to show what the relevance of iconography may have been to those who purchased and used Siana cups in various areas of the Greek world, and beyond