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
2011.604.1.3679
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, hails from Attic workshops in the second quarter of 5th century BCE heart of the Classical period.lixes like this were essential for symposia, lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine, and debated philosophy poetry. Though only a fragment survives, it evokes the everyday elegance of Athenian life during the Golden Age, when the city-state flourished after victories over Persia. Crafted in terracotta, the medium of choice for Greek vases, this piece likely employed the red-figure techn...