Red-figure cup fragment. Int., stopt maeanders to right/cross-square; top of head of satyr to right. Side A: toes of left foot of satyr? to right; end of thyrsos, feet of maenad in chiton to left; stopt maeander/cross-square groundline. c. 460

Curator: This small, fragmented piece is a red-figure cup fragment, now held at the Harvard Art Museums, and attributed to the Euaion Painter. Editor: It's striking, even in its broken state. I immediately sense a vibrant, perhaps chaotic energy suggested by the figures. Curator: The surviving imagery depicts parts of a satyr and a maenad, figures commonly associated with Dionysian revelry. Notice the stopt maeanders, a recurring motif. Editor: Precisely. That continuous, labyrinthine pattern holds a deep resonance. Its presence here, framing this scene of ecstatic release, seems deliberately paradoxical. Curator: It highlights a dichotomy inherent in Greek culture. The bounded vs the unbounded. Order set against impulsive expression. Editor: And how this fragment, as part of a drinking vessel, suggests how these themes permeated everyday life and social ritual. Intriguing! Curator: Indeed. Considering its broken nature, there's a certain beauty in how this fragment continues to provoke thought, after all this time. Editor: Ultimately, the fragment is an evocative snapshot, connecting us to a distant past.