Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
510–490 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
2011.604.1.3022
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece during the late Archaic period510–490 BCE). Crafted in the vibrant hub of ancient Athens, kylikes like this were essential to symposia—lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, debated philosophy, and savored diluted wine. Though only a piece survives, it offers a glimpse into the daily rituals and refined tastes of Archaic Greek society, bridging the geometric austerity of earlier pottery to the more naturalistic figures of the Classical era. Attic terracotta vases represent a pinnacle of ancient...