Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
470–450 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Classical
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
2011.604.1.164
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece during the High Classical period (470–450 BCE), a golden age of Athenian culture marked by the flourishing of democracy, philosophy, and the arts under leaders like Pericles. Crafted in terracotta—a fired clay prized for its durability and fine detail—this piece once formed part of a vessel used in symposia elite male drinking parties where conversation, poetry, and revelry intertwined. Attic vases like this were everyday luxuries, exported across the Mediterranean, showcasing Greece's artistic prowess. Ar...