Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
second quarter 5th century 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
2011.604.1.243
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece in the second quarter of the 5 century BCE, during the golden age of the Classical period. Produced in Athens, the epicenter of Greek artistic innovation, kylikes like this were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in philosophical discourse, poetry, and games. Though a fragment survives, it exemplifies the everyday elegance of ancient Greek pottery, crafted from fine clay fired to a warm reddish hue. Attic vases from this era ar...