Fragments of a terracotta kylix (drinking cup)
ca. 520–510 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
.a: 2 1/4 × 4 3/4 in. (5.6 × 12 cm)
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Archaic
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dietrich von Bothmer, 1983
Accession Number
1983.524.3a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking fragment of a terracotta kylix comes from the hand of Euphronios, one of the most celebrated Athenian vase painters of the late Archaic period. Created around 520–510 BCE in Athens, the cup would once have served as an elegant drinking vessel at symposia—lively gatherings where men gathered to drink, converse, and enjoy performances. Euphronios belonged to the pioneering group of artists who helped develop the red-figure technique, which allowed figures to be rendered with greater anatomical detail and expressive movement than the earlier black-figure style. Even in its survivin...
About the Artist
Euphronios
Euphronios was a vase painter and potter working in the red-figure technique in Athens from about 520 to 470 BCE. He signed his name on eighteen vases, six times as painter and twelve times as potter. To judge by their drawing style, the vases that he signed as potter seem to be later than those he signed as painter. In his early career Euphronios was one of a group of Athenian vase painters who h...