Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
second quarter of the 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
2011.604.1.2765
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece in the second quarter of the5th century BCE, the Classical period's golden age. Produced in Athens, the epicenter of ancient Greek culture, kylikes were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine, and engaged in philosophical discourse, poetry, and games. Though only a piece survives, it evokes the refined world of everyday luxury, where pottery blended utility with artistry. Attic vases like this exemplify masterful terracotta techniques, likely red-figure paintin...