Terracotta fragment of a kylix: Band cup (drinking cup)

Art Historical Context

This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or band cup—a shallow drinking vessel with horizontal decorative bands—hails from Attic Greece in the third quarter of the th century BCE, during the Archaic period. in Athens, the heart of ancient Greek pottery innovation, such cups were essential for symposia, lively male social gatherings where wine flowed and intellectual discourse thrived. As a fragment, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into everyday elite life, where functionality met artistry. Crafted from fired clay and likely decorated in the black-figure technique—silhouettes incised to reveal r...