Depas Amphikypellon

Periplus Workshops 2019

The Depas Amphikypellon are a series of two-cupped vessels found in ruins near Kalamata, Greece. While Depas, cups with two handles, are frequently found at ruin sites, the inverse form of a single handle with two cups is rare and unique.

I recreated this vessel using locally found olive branches, lemons, and oranges that I hollowed and connected using metal and plaster. The olive branch serves as the connection point of the two vessels which are made from the peels of the fruits.

These prototypes were then cast into a plaster mold in the ground itself. Mold making is normally a precise and tool-heavy process that asks for level surfaces and exact calculations. This mold was successfully made with no more than plaster, water, a shovel, and plastic wrap.

The plaster mold was then used to experiment with slip casting, one of the first forms of industrial mass production, and pressed clay casting. In both the slip casts and the pressed clay casts, the subtle textures of the fruit and the bark can be seen on the clays surface because of the fine Greek plaster used to make the mold. As the clay fired fast and hot in a DIY propane kiln, fissures in the vessels formed. These cracks mimic ancient ruins while also appear as splits in the pith of the fruit the mold was made from. This dish could be used to serve olives in one side and dispose of the pits in the other after enjoying them; a tradition that spans from ancient Greece to modern times.

Other experiments with slip casting bowls out of molds made from stones were successful as well as carbonizing local lemons and pomegranates into pure black carbon. While fruit is short lived, carbonizing it immortalizes it into a black shadow of its previously vital self.

These experimental pieces show how interesting design investigations can be done on a budget with little to no tools.

In this case, the process is the product.