This kyathos (plural- kyathoi) is .064 m tall with a maximum preserved width of .072 m. It was decorated with six groups of four vertical wavy lines painted on from the lip to midway down the vessel. These lines fade into the first of three concentric bands that run around the lower half of the kyathos. The interior of the vessel is also decorated with three concentric bands, one at the lip, another midway down, and the third at the bottom. All of these bands and lines are of a deep red color. The single ribbon handle rises .014 m from a smooth join at the rim before joining the vase midway down above the first concentric band. The ribbon handle is decorated with 8 parallel lines of a dark reddish-brown color, that run across the width of the handle. There is one kiln mark on the opposite side of the vase from the handle, and interrupts the first concentric band, this most likely occurred from the vessel being placed against a wall of the kiln and not allowing oxygen to evenly color the slip.
Upon further research, no comparable material was found for the kyathos. Two experts in the field of Greek vases were consulted and offered two different possible origins of the vase based on digital images. One believes it to be a type of Danubian ware, a late Neolithic culture. The other scholar identified it is a late 6th century BCE Boeotian kantharos that was modified to a kyathos during production. There appears to be faint traces of scoring marks above the kiln mark, where a second handle might have been attached. In addition, the lip is slightly flatter at this point were a ribbon handle might have terminated. These two observations make the second theory more plausible, however only one kyathos was ever found in a Greek settlement, Olbia in the Crimea.
The closet comparable vase is a Boeotian kantharos from the last third of the 6th century currently in the University of Reading Museum. This kantharos and kyathos share a similar decoration of vertical lines above concentric circles. They also share a similar bowl and foot shape, again supporting the theory that this kyathos was once a kantharos that was changed mid-production.
The kyathos is a dipper shape used for transferring liquid from larger vessels (e.g. kraters) into smaller shapes (e.g. kylix). It is believed that the kyathos was a shape imported by the potter Nikosthenes, around 530 B.C.E, who seemed to have been inspired by ancient Etruscan bucchero shapes (c.f. kantharos). -Andrew Carroll