The base and the handles of the kylix are missing. It was found in 1994 during the restoration work on the Parthenon's entablature of the opisthonaos, fallen upside down on the upper surface of the southwestern anta capital. It has a concave contour and on its outer surface are preserved traces of where the base and handles were fixed.

This kylix belongs to a rare type whose origin is attributed to influences from the Achaemenid (Persian) metalworking. Below the rim an inscription states “ΝΑΥΑΡΧOΣ ANEΘΕΚΕΝ [ΑΘΕΝ]ΑΙΑΙ”, meaning “Nauarchos dedicated it to Athena”.

Traces of red pigment (minium, hematite and some zinc), that was spilled over the marble surface where the kylix was found, have been preserved in its interior. This is the oldest vessel to be re-used as a paint container for a marble craftsman who participated in the Parthenon’s construction.

The colour was probably used to mark the upper surface of the entablature’s stone blocks which needed to be smooth in order to receive other architectural members over them. Perhaps, due to the craftsman carelessness, the kylix fell from a 2.05 m height between the blocks where it remained until 1994.