Terracotta fragment of a kylix: Band cup (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
third quarter of the 6th century BCE
Medium
Terracotta
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, Distinguished Research Curator, Greek and Roman Art, 2011
Accession Number
2011.604.3.1566
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from a kylix, or band cup—a shallow, two-handled drinking vessel—offers a glimpse into the symposia of ancient Athens during the Archaic period (third quarter of the 6 century BCE). Crafted in Attic Greece around 550–525 BCE, these cups were essential for communal wine-drinking rituals among elite men, where poetry, philosophy, and politics flowed as freely as the libations. As a "band cup," its decoration featured a narrow frieze of figures—perhaps athletes, warriors, or mythological scenes—encircling the central well, a hallmark of this elegant shape that ba...