Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
5th century BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Archaic/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
2011.604.1.1566
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, hails from Attic workshops in the 5th century BCE, bridging the Archaic and Classical periods. Produced during Athens' golden age, such vases were everyday luxuries crafted from fired clay and often adorned with intricate black-figure or red-figure paintings depicting myths, daily life, or symposia scenes. Though only a fragment survives, it evokes the masterful pottery tradition that made Attica the epicenter of Greek ceramics, exported across the Mediterranean. Kylikes like this one were essential to th...