46 - Etruscan black-figure kyathos from the workshop of the Micali Painter. Circa 500 B.C. H 12 cm, ø 10.8 cm, L with handle 16.2 cm. Small conical cup with a loop handle, the latter crowned by a relief pine cone. The frieze depicts a female sphinx between two eyes, with densely packed ivy leaves in the fields. Details in white. The handle and small rim fragments are broken and have been reattached; the surface is slightly worn, with tiny chips; a very small chip on the rim has been repaired. Provenance: Formerly in the collection of A. M., Ascona / Amsterdam, acquired in 1985. Numerous clues—such as the style of the sphinx, the densely clustered ivy leaves, the shape of the base, and the imperfect firing—suggest that this is not an Attic piece but rather an Etruscan one, which is rare for this type of vessel. Furthermore, the style of the sphinx reveals a clear affinity with the work of the famous Micali Painter, making it likely that it was produced in his workshop. Compare, for example, the sphinxes on a hydria in the State Collections of Antiquities, Munich, from the SH 895 collection = Beazley Archive Pottery Database 9034640.