Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/492

Metal, 435 The inventive faculty of the goldsmith is shown at its best in bottles and drinking-cups. Among vases of this class no two specimens are precisely alike. Many have but one handle, and mouths more or less open. Here, ribs or channellings adorn the surface (Fig. 516); there, we behold a series of arcatured in imitation of a Roman portico (Fig. 517). Elsewhere the field is occupied by leafy branches, surmounted by an open flower (Fig. 518). More complicated work is shown on another gold vase (Fig. 519). Externally, a triple horizontal band or zone surrounds the body and divides it into two compartments, each occupied by fishes in relief, modelled in repousse work. Then, there are tall drinking-cups or glasses provided with a foot. One of these is quite plain ; but on the handle is chiselled a dog's head biting the rim of the vase (Fig. 520). The handles of some of the bowls are quite plain (Fig. 521). Under the lip, however, are modelled three lions at full speed. Finally, there is a cup which deserves special attention (Fig. 522). Its two horizontal handles are formed by thick plates held together by a small cylinder. The