It is widely accepted that the iconography and composition of Arcesilaus' cup was modeled on weighing scenes found in Egyptian funerary art. However, less attention has been paid to how the artist Arcesilaus came to experiment with the composition found in Egyptian funerary art, and why he wanted to do it. This article reviews previous studies of the plot of the Cup of Arcesilaus and its similarities to Egyptian illustrations of the weighing of the heart. It further explores how exchange and consumption in the sixth-century Mediterranean can be used to understand the unique story of the cup. Finally, she offers contexts for the movement of drawings between Egyptian and Laconian artists.