During major excavations at the end of the 19thcentury in the sanctuary of Demeter and Korè at Eleusis, a hitherto unknown form of vase came to light; it was a specialized production, intended for exclusive use in the mysteries. Since then, four generations of researchers have worked on their detailed publication, and some reviews and synthesis articles have appeared. However, all of this material has remained unpublished for 130 years (1883-2018), given its complexity, large volume, lack of figurative decoration, loss of excavation contexts and lack of solidly dated comparative material. Despite the rarity of the category, which did not stimulate the need to conclude earlier, this is one of the few specialized forms produced by Attic ceramics in antiquity. Devoid of painted figurative decoration, it has escaped synthetic studies of ancient vase forms. Misunderstandings about them, or old conclusions overtaken by research, still appear repeatedly in the bibliography.
This rare category of ritual utensils offers an example of cult materiality, to be studied by the scientific branch of ceramologists, but from different angles. The material offers the example of a closed file, with a precise form, which can be approached in many ways (typology, iconography, written sources, cult/religion, but also by its geographical diaspora and chronology). The contexts of provenance, the history of their discovery, the link with textual information on the rite, their probable ancient name(s), etc., will be the subject of our discussion. The conclusions of the study produce concrete proposals for the interpretation of the decoration, the rite linked to their use, their distribution in geographical space, the financial parameters of the cult, etc.
To better illustrate the fundamental importance of the vase-symbol in the Eleusinian ritual, it is useful to refer to the parallel case of the Eucharistic chalice in Christianity, heir to ancient mystery cults. This is one of the few categories of finds that we can be sure were touched, used and manipulated by the initiates of classical antiquity, and became the symbol of ritual acts.
The lecture will close with a discussion of the problems of interpretation posed by the rare and limited iconography of these vases, while the following lecture will take the subject in a different direction.
